The Adventure of the Century-Long Turnabout
by TinyMinotaur
Summary: Apollo is attacked at his office at Kura’in and left to die. The Wright Anything Agency takes his case but as the truth unfolds itself it turns to be darker and older that expected, a whole century older to be exact. Right at the middle of everything lies an old diary that belonged to a legendary defense attorney: Ryuunosuke Naruhodou.
1. Prelude to Turnabout

June 21, 4:00 pm

Kura'in International Airport.

It was just like any other day, sunny but not too hot, the perfect weather to go and walk. Plus, Kura'in is a good place to wander around all day without getting bored. This is exactly what the Wright Anything Agency were thinking as Phoenix, Trucy, Athena and Simon were walking in the street, ready for their vacation.

Apollo had invited them since he had a ton of work and couldn't afford to travel, but still he was excited to see them again.

The Wrights went to buy some snacks first, leaving Athena and Simon to join Apollo.

" Justice-dono is quite popular, huh?" commented Simon.

" I'm kinda jealous. But look! He has a cool dragon on his office's sign!" she stared at the colorful sign, she never expected to see Apollo's name all alone. Mr. Wright was very proud of him but for her it had felt so quick and weird. She still expect him to come at the Agency like every morning, pour on some coffee and maybe scream for a while, the office was so quiet since he left…

"Let's see if he's in there" Simon rang the bell, but after some minutes there was no response. He tried again and even hit the door a few times but not a single sound answered to him. As they started walking away Athena noticed that a window was broken.

Something was wrong…

Phoenix and Trucy were approaching.

" Athena, go with Trucy" said Simon, ordering more than asking.

" What? Simon, I can help!"

" I need you to watch over the young girl."

Athena felt a shiver running down her spine, what they could find inside the ruined office may not be pretty. She aproached Trucy and talked to her trying to not scare her, but Wright knew something was amiss. Simon pointed the window to him and he got close, entering the office trough it just a moment later.

The office was a complete mess, it seemed like someone had emptied all the furniture and dropped all the insides over the floor. There were glass shards from the window.

"Whoever dropped all the papers did it before the break in, the glass covers the paper" thought Phoenix, but then a small moan caught his attention. As he looked at the source of the sound he felt his entire body going cold… "Apollo!"

Apollo was slumped on his chair, right in front of a desk, his head low and his arms full of cuts hanging limply by the sides, but what made the scene horryfing was the long sword sticking right out of his chest, making his vest turn a sick deep red tone. But he looked so pale…so…dead.

Phoenix ran to him and checked his pulse by his neck. There was still a faint beat, so slow that it made Phoenix's hands shake. Apollo opened his eyes a little and looked at him, his gaze clearly pained and glassy.

" Mr…Wright…" he tried to speak but his voice was weak and he coughed, his lungs were making a rattling sound.

" Don't speak Apollo, you will be fine, just hang in there!"

Simon called an ambulance. Phoenix needed to keep Apollo alive but he couldn't think on how to stop the bleeding when the sword was still in there.

" Oh god, who could have done this?" Phoenix was talking to himself, but Apollo listened.

" Hound…"

" W-what?"

" Jour…journal…red…book…" Apollo was making his best to talk, like he needed to say something. Phoenix thought he was delirious until he looked at the desk, finding a small red notebook. "Take…it…police can't…see it…"

What could that book have? Why is so important that it made Apollo to force his body just to ensure it's care?

Phoenix didn't had the chance to ask because as soon as he took the book Apollo started to close his eyes.

"Trucy…she's…in danger" blood was now coming out of his mouth in thin stripes, his breathing hard and, finally, his eyes closed "Please…save…her"

" Apollo! No! C'mon…open your eyes!" Phoenix was scared, his trembling hands almost dropped the red book, a reckless thought made him reach for the handle of the sword to try and pull it out.

" DON'T YOU DARE WRIGHT-DONO!" yelled Blackquill "You will only make it worse, the sword is in a bad place, you can kill him just by pulling it out! Don't even touch it, we don't want your prints on—" Simon fell silent as he looked at the sword, his eyes went wide open when he realized that it wasn't an ordinary one. " Karuma…"

" Karma?"

" The sword...it's—"

Before Simon could explain a bunch of paramedics entered and checked on Apollo before taking him away, leaving behind his friends drowning in worry for him.

" Daddy! What's happening? Polly…he…"

The instant Phoenix saw his daughter he remembered the last words of Apollo, warning him. It had no case to try and hide that fact, Trucy would know immediately.

" Truce, Apollo was attacked. I need you to stay close to me at all moment, okay?"

The young girl paled.

" Polly told you?"

Phoenix flinched in alarm, how did she came to that conclusion? Did Apollo have more to tell him?

It seemed like Trucy knew more than himself right now, but they were right in front of the crime scene and the assailant could be right there, watching over them, speaking freely would be too dangerous. He didn't say a word, he just took the hand of his daughter and made a signal to Athena and Simon who followed them.

They were planning since the beggining to stay at an old friend's home (Beh'leeb In'mee offered that herself) and now that was the safest place to go. They needed to go at the hospital too so they splited up: Phoenix and Trucy went to In'mee's house and Athena and Simon to the hospital.

" Trucy, what do you know about this?"

" Sorry papa…" a painfully familiar metallic sound reached Phoenix's ears as four red psycho-locks appeared just in front of her. "I swore not to tell to anyone, I promise that it's nothing bad, bu Polly asked me to keep it a secret"

Phoenix knew how strong was the bond between Trucy and Apollo, she would never betray him so it would be impossible for him to break that locks. Instead he looked at the red book on his hands and opened it. Apollo kept track of everything in there, it was like a journal but he loved to write his adventures in a novel-like style, Athena once found one of his notes and mocked him saying that he was both Sherlock and Watson.

Phoenix found the entries for the past days, most of them just brief notes, until one that caught his attention:

" June 14.

Today Datz decided to check on Dhurke's old files and the office it's a mess. I'll deal with it later because at the moment I find myself flying to England. I wish this was a vacation, in fact I'm following the steps of my biological father; Jove Justice.

Nobody but Dhurke knew something about him, they were friends just before my father died at a fire made up to taking down a queen. Sometimes I think that it took down my entire world instead…

Dhurke was able to found out my father's true name, with that I found something else; an apartment of his in England, to be exact.

I'm going to investigate that place, if I'm lucky I may be able to know what kind of man my father was.

June 15.

The investigation was quicker than expected. My father didn't own a lot of things, mostly books, guitars and a suitcase that I took back with me to Kura'in. I'll check them out in the plane.

June 15.

Among the things I found a little book that seems to be a journal. But it's not my father's, it looks very old.

I started to read it to see why my father would have such a personal item from somebody else, according to the first pages my "somebody else's" name is Ryuunosuke Naruhodou. He's the true owner of this book. "

Then Phoenix changed the page to keep reading but at the sole sight of the paper his heart jumped; the words were shaky and almost illegible, what truly scared him was a page splattered with blood.

"JOURNAL. HOUND. KARMA. RYUUNOSUKE. SHERLOCK. BARKERVILLE"

He tried to make sense of these words but he didn't have a clue of what Apollo meant with each one. He talked about a journal and a Ryuunosuke, but Sherlock? The detective from the books? He needed to examine Apollo's office, maybe there he could find some answers.

The familiar Steel Samurai song reached his ears as his phone rang.

" Hello?"

" Wright-dono, you need to come to the hospital right now"

" What happened? Apollo…"

" He's pretty bad but still alive, but we need your presence immediately."

" I-I'm coming right away, but can you please tell me exactly what's wrong?"

"He's being arrested…"


	2. The Great Team

**September 16, 4:00 pm**

**Baskerville Manor, England.**

**A century ago.**

Ryuunosuke Naruhodou, a japanese man almost turned into a british gentleman after years of living in London.

He had solved all kind of cases over his years spent in the court, some people even called him "The Great Ace Attorney". Even if that title sounded really cool he still blushed every time he was called like that. For him it had been all so surreal, in mere months he was turned into an attorney and then his life changed completely, some times for the better, some other for the worse. But he was alive and currently very glad, mostly for metting all of his friends; Sherlock Holmes, Iris Watson, Gina Lestrade and his dear Susato.

Susato has been with him since the begining, always saving him and being the best company he could ask for. Over the years their friendship turned into something more, something deeper and beautiful, even after years he still looked at her and couldn't help but smile, feeling a pleasant warm wrap around his heart.

" Earth calling Mister Naruhodou, are you there?" Sherlock's voice forced Ryu to stop staring at Susato and turn red as he looked at the laughing detective, he loved to mock him. "Ohhh c'mon, why you keep turning as red as a tomato? You have been together for years."

" I-I just…"

" Love is soo weird." Sherlock put a hand on Ryu's shoulder and smiled. "Now, let's focus on the case at hand ok?"

Ryu nooded. He hadn't even saw his client yet but Sherlock insisted him in granting his defense. The defendant was a man by the name of Henry Baskerville, a very nervous but rich man that was a former client of Sherlock. Iris had written that story as "The Hound of the Baskerville" but they didn't publish it because that case was still a nightmare for Henry.

In a few words, the Hound case was investigating a monster that was believed to hunt down the Baskerville family, at the end the monster ended up being real but was a fabrication of a criminal who wanted to inherit all of the Baskerville's fortune. Unfortunately, seeing the actual monster scarred Henry for life.

This time, Henry had been acussed of murder. It happened at his mansion, he had invited a man to dinner but they found him dead just a couple of hours after, the only ones at the mansion were Henry and his two butlers and it was raining really bad at the time so nobody could have entered the mansion. Everything pointed at Henry and everyone in town believed that he had finally lost his mind and killed the man, but Sherlock insisted that he could be innocent and asked for Ryuunosuke's help.

" So, how did the victim die?" asked Ryu.

" Poison, but I already checked the food and it's clean, it must have entered his body in other way. We should check everything in the mansion carefully. I will go upstairs, call me if you need me Mister Naruhodou!" before Ryu could say something Sherlock had dissapeared, leaving him and Susato in the huge dinning room.

" Naruhodou-sama, Susato took the freedom of reading the findings report and the poison that killed the victim is called atroquinine, it's a strong and not so hard to find poison, however, it can only kill if it's ingested." Ryu loved to look at her eyes when she talked of her notes, she was very smart and even if she was very composed her eyes always shine when she can show the results of her studies.

" Atroquinine…that one's new for me. But if it wasn't on his food he had to eat something else that contained it."

" But according to the butlers they ate all together and since then they just saw Mr. Henry giving the victim a tour around the mansion. They found the victim the morning after in a chair at the dinning room."

" That's very strange, if there's no clues here then we should check the rest of the house then. I think we haven't visited the library yet, it's the last room. "

" Uh…Mr. Narudo?" an old voice called his attention, it was one of the butlers.

" The name is Naruhodou but it's all right."

" Oh, sorry. There's someone in the lobby who wants to see you, he says it's important."

Ryu and Susato looked at each other, he wasn't expecting anybody and he had to finish the investigation soon so he could see his client.

" Can you tell him if he can wait for me, please? I'm going as soon as I finish looking for something."

" Oh, there's no need to worry Mr. Naruhodou, this will only take a second" a man entered the dinning room so suddenly that it made Susato flinch, the man looked old but was dressed elegantly, his features made him look sharp but also…cruel. A shiver ran down Ryu's spine. " I am the Professor James Moriarty, pleased to meet you. You are Mr. Ryuunosuke Naruhodou, I presume."

" Yes, that's my name. And she is Mikotoba Su—"

" No need for that, I just needed to know if you are the right person. Now, Mr. Naruhodou, listen carefully." The man looked at Ryu the way a shark look at its prey, his gaze cold and piercing. " Drop this case, I don't want you here. This is the only warning you will get, stay away from this manor before its curse takes over you, you already stepped on it but it's not too late."

" W-what do you mean with that?"

" If you're smart you will now go home, I assure you that Mr. Baskerville will be okay, the court can assign him a new attorney if you don't defend him. In two days from now you will wake up in the morning and read about his acquittal in the papers, you have my word. Now, Mr. Naruhodou, goodbye." Then the man dissapeared, neither Ryu or Susato went after him, they just stayed there, trying to know what exactly that man wanted to say.

" Naruhodou-sama, are you okay?" asked Susato looking at him with worry.

" Yeah, I just…that was weird."

" Do you think he's dangerous?"

" No, he warned us about a curse…must be one of the neighbors"

" Recently someone moved to a house close to here, I haven't seen them but looks old enough to keep believing in the Baskerville curse." said the butler, putting Ryu at ease.

" Something's wrong?" the sudden question by Sherlock scared Ryu, he had appeared out of nowhere.

" Ahhhh, Mr. Holmes!" Ryu composed himself while Sherlock laughed "Yeah, a neighbor told us to stay away from here or a curse would fall upon us."

" Oh, yeah, the neighbors are very strange. Don't worry Mister Naruhodou, there's not such curse!"

" I know that already…now, you want to go to eat? I'm tired."

" I can prepare you something if you want, you're helping Master after all." Offered the butler.

" Oh no no, thank you, there's no need. I need to check out some things back at Baker Street so we're going there before the night comes."

Without further delay, Ryuunosuke and company left the manor. However, Ryu couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong… he was a very spiritual man, curses were no joke to him, however, as he looked at Susato and she smiled for him he felt like no curse would affect him as long as such an angel stayed at his side...


	3. Baskerville

**Present**

**June 21, 6:25 pm**  
**Kura'in Hospital**  
Phoenix almost ran to the hospital as soon as he received Simon's call, leaving Trucy with Ms. In'mee, but he wasn't expecting what he found; there where a lot of cops and armed guards, Athena was yelling at one of them while Simon was standing behind her with a mad face.  
" Oh Boss, thank god you're finally here!" Athena was so relieved to see him.  
" What's wrong?"  
" The officers say that they must arrest Apollo and take him to the Detention Center. I managed to revoke that order but they still handcuffed him to his bed!"  
" He's the victim here! Why they would want to arrest him? Under which charges?"  
" Theft. Your client is a dirty thief Mr. Blue Lawyer" a man risen from his seat and approached Phoenix, he was dressed in a black suit and used a top hat, he was something that you usually wouldn't see at Kura'in. "He took something of my property and I want it back as soon as possible."  
" So, you presented the charges. Let me tell you that Apo-my client isn't a thief."  
" Can you prove it?"  
" I…"  
" I know that he has it, I want a confession from him and my precious item back."  
" You can't rush this, he's fighting for his life right now, whatever you want can wait."  
" It can't. He's not going anywhere until I recover my item!" the man looked surprisingly composed, that fact alone made Phoenix want to punch him right in the face.  
" Calm down master, we are in a hospital" an old man had appeared next to the top hat one, he was dressed like an old butler and looked a lot wiser than his "master". "Let me introduce ourselves, this is Baron Alexander Baskerville, England Ambassador and Minister of International Relations of Kura'in. I'm Thomas Barrymore, humble servant of the Baskerville house.  
" Yeah, this is Phoenix Wright and Athena Cykes, attorneys at law" said Phoenix in a much less formal way, the old man looked at him in a dissaproving way. " So, you presented the charges. What exactly do you claim he stole?"  
" A family relic, I can't say a lot of details but we are sure that Mr. Justice has it."  
" How are you so sure?"  
" We have a witness." spurted Baskerville just before his butler touched his shoulder, getting his attention and understanding by his glaze that he had to keep silence.  
" A witness…who?"  
"You can find it out in tomorrow's trial, Mr. Wright." Said Barrymore.  
Phoenix and Athena didn't want to give up so easily, but a doctor entered the room with news. He took both lawyers to another hallway but left Simon at the waiting room trying to get a little privacy.  
" I will be sincere with you, Mr. Wright. Mr. Justice is alive, but it's very likely that he won't be for so long…I'm sorry."  
"W-what? What's wrong with him? There's nothing you can do to save him?" Athena had broke into tears easily, but Phoenix tried to hold himself.  
" He has a lot of cuts all over his arms, most of them are shallow but there are two that reached bone, however, the sword caused a lot of damage and blood loss. His right lung has stopped working, he needs a very complicated surgery that we are not able to perform here, he needs to be moved to an speciality hospital in a neighbor country."  
" A sword?...boss, what happened?" Athena looked at the doctor "Then there's something that you can do, why you haven't send him already?"  
"The arrest order, Athena…he can't go anywhere."  
"Oh no…w-we must make that Basker dude retire the charges! Or else Apollo…"  
" You already tried and he stated that he won't retire the charges until his "precious item" appears."  
" And how are we supposed to find it if we don't even know what it is?"  
" We won't look for it, Apollo is no thief, we must prove it tomorrow in court…I just hope he can resist until then…"  
" You can see him, but he's currently running a fever so he can be pretty delirious"  
A fever? That was strange. Phoenix sighed, he felt his heart clench in worry for his poor protégé but still agreed to see him.  
He had to hold back tears when he finally saw him, all pale and bandaged in his bed. Phoenix was used to see Apollo like an energic and loud guy, but now he looked so small and so weak…  
Phoenix got close, even if Apollo's face was almost completely covered by an oxigen mask he could still see his furrowed brow, it was like he was having a nightmare.  
" Hey buddy…" he touched his hand, it was cold, it didn't matter that he had a fever. To everyone's surprise, Apollo opened his eyes.  
" Mr…Wr…ght" he whispered.  
" Don't talk Apollo, save your strenght. I'm here." His eyes looked glassy and unfocused, just that was enough to believe that he was at death's door, but then as he blinked tears fell down his cheeks. Phoenix frost, he had NEVER seen Apollo cry, not even when Clay died.  
" I don't want to die… Mr. Wright…." His voice sounded so clear that it made a shiver run through Phoenix's entire body " I don't want to…"  
Athena cried even harder than she was before, Phoenix tried so hard to be the adult in there. He stroked Apollo's hair softly, his cold hand helping to soothe the young lawyer.  
" You won't Apollo, you will be fine…you always are, don't you? You can make it." Apollo looked at him one last time before falling asleep again. Phoenix then exited the room as fast as his legs were able to carry him. When Athena catched up to him he was leaning against a wall, his hand covering his eyes.  
" Boss…" she was sure that he was crying, but he quickly wiped his eyes.  
" I can't cry…not yet, I-I will find out who assaulted Apollo… I have to!"  
" But we have a trial tomorrow! We must find a way to clear his name before anything."  
" Barkerville wants him to die! He tried to silence him but he couldn't so he's just trying to leave him to die here! Don't you see?! That's why he presented the charges!" Athena flinched, he had never seen him so altered or screaming as he was in that moment " I just know it! And I will prove it, I will find the evidence to do it!"  
" Now, calm down Wright-dono, you're yelling such grave accusations like they're nothing" Simon had reached them and he stood in front of Phoenix. " You're grasping at straws now, we don't know a thing about Baskerville and there's no evidence against him. But we aren't clueless either."  
" What do you mean Simon?" asked Athena.  
" Something back in the crime scene caught my attention so I took the chance to investigate a little while you visited Justice-dono."  
" You went to the crime scene?"  
" No, all I needed was right here, in the hospital."  
" The weapon…" murmured Phoenix, he stiil seemed altered but at least was paying attention.  
" Exactly. The sword used to harm Justice-dono isn't an ordinary one. It's name is Karuma, it's an old katana that long time ago was wielded only by the Asougi family, at least until the Meiji era when the katana was inherited by a man by the name of Naruhodou Ryuunosuke."  
" Ryuunosuke!" Wright almost jumped at the mention of that name.  
" Have you heard of him?"  
" Three times in the last two hours… he seems to be a key to this case."  
" We must look for him!" yelled Athena.  
" Sorry to dissapoint you Wright-dono, but Naruhodou Ryuunosuke has been dead for almost 100 years."  
" You're kidding me…"  
" I don't know a lot about him, just that the katana belonged to him before passing to it's last family. It's said that that family owed a lot to Naruhodou, so when it passed to them they took the name of the sword as their own as an act of respect."  
" Are you serious Blackquill?! Who would do…that…Karma...v-von" Phoenix paled as he realized the facts, Simon gave him a written note with everything he knew.  
" The current owner of that katana is the von Karma family, and you know who is the last of them. It's authentic, nobody else could have access to that sword Wright-dono."  
" Then we must see that von Karma! You're amazing Simon!" claimed Athena.  
" But…von Karma lives in Germany…" lamented Phoenix.  
" Whaaaaaat?! Then how did that sword find it's way til Kura'in?!"  
" Athena and I are going to look for von Karma, you need to stay here Wright-dono. Something tells me that you know what to do next."  
Phoenix, now calmed and with a new look on his eyes, smiled at Blackquill. "Thank you"  
" Honor to those who deserve it, Wright-dono, I'm willing to help Justice-dono in all I can." Then he retired from the hall being followed by Athena without questioning. Phoenix had made up his mind too, he needed to save Apollo and find the one who had hurt him. Not as vengueance, but as justice, just like he had wanted...


	4. Rain

**A century ago… **  
**September 16, 6:30 pm **  
**Baker Street, England.**

The night was starting to fall when Ryuunosuke and company arrived at a restaurant not so far from Holmes' office. They soon gathered around a table to drink tea and eat some biscuits like every afternoon. It was Susato's favorite part of living in England, she had always dreamt of having the famous english tea and even if years passed since she first tried it she still enjoyed her daily cup like if it was her first. Naruhodou couldn't help but smile, he touched her hand softly and she smiled back to him. Sherlock fought against his urge to mock Naruhodou and let them be.  
However, something crossed Ryu's mind as he took a sip from his tea; there's no english citizen who willingly skips tea hour, then the day of the murder even if it was raining outside the people on the house surely still drank their tea. What was strange was that there was no signs of it at the mansion, or at least in the places they checked. Then he remembered that they didn't check the library, he needed to investigate before the day ends.  
So, as soon as they finished their tea they split up, Susato and Sherlock went back to their home at Baker Street to check the Hound manuscript in more detail while Ryu came back at Baskerville's manor. However, the "curse" really scared Susato so he just told her that he would send some telegrams and join them at the office later to not worry her.  
"The library has been locked since that night, the police said it wasn't so important since the crime scene was in other room. Are you sure that you want to check it out?" Ryu arrived to the manor faster than expected an was at the library, trying to convince the butler of opening the door.  
"Yeah, just in case. Oh, and it may sound weird but, did you drank tea the day of the murder? "  
"Yes! As always, Master Baskerville never skips his tea, it helps him to calm down his nerves."  
The butler opened the wooden door and allowed Ryu to enter. The first thing he looked for was tea cups, a teapot or something tea-related, however, it was just as he expected.  
"It's so weird…nothing of the sort it's at plain sight, maybe I'm just overeacting" but all his years as an attorney taught him that no detail is too small for a case, Sherlock thinks the same and always insist in taking note of all possible details, if that's not enough then you deduce the truth out. " There are no things for tea, why? Something forced them to skip it? The murder, the murder could have ocurred at the time…but the butlers would have notice it and surely they served tea to Baskerville, the butler said that he never skips it. Then lets suppose the tea was indeed served, why hiding it? Where?" Ryu looked at his surroundings again, the library was a big place, there where tons of books, four small armchairs, a tiny table and a fireplace. His eyes stopped at it, it was cold the night of the crime so it made sense that it was lighted, but there was a lot of ashes, way too many for just a night. When he saw a tiny and sharp white piece among the ashes he had a goosebump. " It can't be…"  
He reunited the pieces as he was finding them and it was what he feared; a complete tea set. Whoever tried to get rid of them probably didn't know that porcelain is heat resistant and just threw it into the fire, they were trying to get rid of it…  
" The poison…" thought Ryu "the poison had to be ingested, Holmes-san said that the food didn't have it, it could have been in the tea the victim drank that night. But if just the victim and Mr. Baskerville had tea that night…the killer…"  
Ryuunosuke found another thing among the ashes, it looked like a paper, slighty burnt and still legible. When he read it he felt his entire being going cold, he just couldn't give credit to his eyes. It was the perfect evidence…for the prosecution.  
" September 14  
Modern Chems Store  
1oz Atroquinine  
The use of this product it's responsability of who buys it, the store does not take responsabilities of any kind.  
Signs: Henry Baskerville "  
The receipt of the poison used to kill the victim pointed at the culprit, the same man Ryuuunosuke was trying so hard to save. What was he supposed to do now? Give the evidence to the prosecutor? Defend his client? Drop the case? It was impossible for him to hide the truth, that wasn't the way he did things, he was no liar.  
He had to talk it to Susato & Sherlock.  
Ryu packed the evidence he found and exited the manor quickly, it was starting to rain and the night had already fell. He stopped a carriage and gave Baker Street's direction.  
In his way he couldn't stop thinking about all he had discovered just minutes ago, he wanted to calm down but his heart refused to cooperate, it beat quickly and hard against his chest. He pulled out his journal and started to write everything that passed trough his head; the case, the suspects, the evidence and the truth he had discovered, his hand was trembling but he was eager to write it down before his nerves made him forget something.  
As he finished, he sighed and looked up, putting his journal back in his chest pocket, for some reason he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, then he noticed…  
The carriage was acelerating like posessed by a demon, he just saw the buildings passing and passing by the window without stopping and heard the carriage itself cracking loudly. He tried to tell the coachman to slow down but he just ignored him and kept on spurring the horse, Ryu tried to open the door but it was tightly closed. Right in that moment, he realized that he had fell into a trap…  
"Stop it! Please!" Ryu yelled to the coachman, he knew that a turn was coming and the carriage may not be able to take it, with that speed and the rain it would surely lose control and crash. But the coachman was trembling, his voice sounded so clean that Fyu's heart almost stopped when he heard what the man muttered to him…" I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry… Mr. Moriarty obligued me"  
Moriarty.  
The coachman jumped at the horse's back, the carriage turned and a loud crack was audible. Ryu saw the horse turning, however, the carriage part kept going foward at a horrible speed, stopping just as it crashed right into a pole lamp…

Ryuunosuke opened his eyes slowly, it was dark and the rain was light but cold. He started to feel the cold floor against his cheek, but as soon as his senses started to come back to him he felt like he was going to pass out again…  
Everything hurt, everything hurt so bad that tears were about to roll down his cheeks. He couldn't move, he could barely breath…  
Someone walked to where he was laying, covered in broken wood and pieces of what used to be a carriage.  
" Help…" his voice sounded so broken, so weak, he barely recognized it as his own. However, the man just stood still, looking at him, Ryu tried to look at who it was and recognized him in an instant. Ryu's sword had landed not so far from him, he tried to take it in a desperate attempt to defend himself but his arm refused to move, Moriarty noticed it and kicked the sword out of his reach and then kneeled down, he checked Ryu's pockets like looking for something until he finally found his journal in the chest pocket and took it away. He noticed that a piece of wood was sticking out of Ryu's back and realized that it would probably kill him, but not as fast as he wanted…  
" It's almost over…" he stroked Ryu's hair in the way you do with a small child, softly, like trying to calm him down, but then pulled out the piece of wood with his other hand and threw it away, blood staining it but being slowly washed away by the rain. Ryuunosuke gasped loudly, he wanted to scream, he wanted to call for help but no voice came out from his throat. He turned his hands into fists and started crying when the agony was too much to bear, he wanted Susato to be there, he wanted it all to end…  
" It's almost over…" Moriarty repeated, he barely heard him before all turned black again.  
For a moment, all he could feel was cold...

Gina Lestrange was running all along the sidewalk, she was late to dinner again. Last time Iris got mad in that childish way of her and treathened to make Gina prepare the tea.  
" Curses! It may be true this time! But this damn weather! It just makes it harder!"  
She was close to Sherlock's flat when she suddenly felt something at her feet and couldn't help but to fall hard in the ground. Her knees hurt but her pride even more, luckily there was no one looking.  
" Ow ow ow, seriously? Must have been a stone or something." But when she looked back at the sidewalk she saw something reflecting the dim moonlight, it was barely visible but was there, shining. She reached it and was surprised as how unique the actual thing was, she had seen something like that just a few times in her life, however, when she was able to clearly see it a shiver ran down her spine. A sword. But not any sword, she had seen that very same one always by the side of her dear friend Naruhodou, it was never separated from him… she started to be scared.  
She realized that it was very dark in that particular place and noticed that the lamp wasn't there anymore, it was broken on the floor and pointed at a disaster even worse, she felt terrified just by looking at the pile of broken pieces that told the story of an accident. It was a park so the area where the wood was spread was very open but also not so well illuminated, she checked again the sword to see if her eyes weren't deceiving her, she just didn't want to think what could have hapenned there and why Naruhodou's sword was close.  
" Mr. Naruhoudou!…" she gathered courage and decided to look for the answers " Mr. Naruhodou!" but nobody answered. She started to search among the disaster hoping that it was nothing, that it was just a lost sword…but no.  
She gasped when she saw him laying on his stomach and covered by the carriage remains, he wasn't moving at all.  
" Mr. Naruhodou!" she shook him lightly but got no response, she was scared but tried to stay calm, she was the only one who could help him. She moved the wood until she was able to pull him out, then she rolled him on his back, put an ear in his chest and sighed in relief when she heard his heart still beating. " What do I do now?...I must look for help! Mr. Holmes! No no, the police, I must call the police, I-I will—" she was interrumpted by the feeling of someone holding her arm, when she looked down she found out that it was Naruhodou, he had opened his eyes, even if slightly.  
" Gina-san…" he murmured weakly.  
" Oh, you are awake! You okay? What happened?"  
" Help me…" it was dark so it was hard to see how injured he was but Gina could see Ryu's hair damped and sticked to his forehead, a streak of blood running down his face was also visible. " Help me get to…to Baker Street, please…"  
" B-but you're wounded! You must stay calm while I call a doctor."  
" I…can do it ughh" he tried to get up without sucess, Gina held him.  
" Stay down Mr. Naruhodou!"  
" Please…I need to…I need to see…Susato…please"  
" I will call her here, I promise!"  
" I don't have…much time…"  
Gina felt a shiver just by hearing his words, he was trying so hard to get up that it made her realize how determined he was and decided that she would help him, just like he helped her all the times she needed. She put his arm around her neck while holding his side with her other hand and help him to put on his feet, he was lighter and smaller than she expected.  
" Thank you…let's—ungghh!" he folded himself in pain and almost fell again.  
" Mr. Naruhodou!"  
" I'm fine…I'm fine…let's go…" but he wasn't, his breath was now labored and his body trembled. Gina was scared but he still move foward, their destination was close, they could do it!  
Gina felt a road like an entire block, they were slow and the rain made it harder, even if Ryu tried to go fast he put more weight on her with each step and had to stop a few times, every time he leaned on a wall trying to recover she encouraged him: "We are close" "Keep going" "We're almost there" and he was able to take more steps. Gina started to feel her clothes damped, she wondered, was it rain? Was it blood? She didn't want to know.  
When they finally arrived at the door of the 221 B Ryu was almost a dead weight, Gina looked at him and under the lights it was evident that he was horribly pale and his face covered by watered blood. Then, as he tried to take a step his eyes rolled back and he fell limply to the floor even if Gina was still holding him and trying to prevent it.  
" No no, Mr. Naruhodou…please talk to me" but he didn't respond. Gina panicked an ran to get his friends before it was too late.

The rain wasn't a problem for the ones inside Sherlock's flat, it was warm and the dinner was almost ready. The girls were just waiting for Ryuunosuke and Gina to start.  
Sherlock Holmes was sat in his favorite armchair, listening carefully to all of his surroundings. A moment later he heard the main door opening downstairs.  
" Sounds like our favorite defense lawyer has arrived." He said and the girls smiled, but then he heard weird steps. Sherlock could tell the difference between Ryu's steps and those from another person, but the ones he was hearing were heavy, slow and not from only one person, it was worse when he heard a loud thump. Sherlock rised from his seat in alarm and quick steps climbed the stairs in less than a second, then someone hit the door desperately.  
" M-mr. Holmes…" at the door stood Gina trembling uncontrollably, what was worse, her clothes and hands were completely covered in blood " Help him, please…"  
Gina pointed at the building door and Sherlock saw him, laying unconscious. He ran downstairs being soon followed by Susato and Iris.  
" Master Naruhodou! Can you hear me?"  
" Naruhodou-sama!" yelled Susato, she touched his face in worry and he opened his eyes.  
" Susato…" he smiled at her " I'm…glad to see you…" tears fell from Susato's eyes.  
" Naruhodou-sama is going to be okay…don't worry." She said, stroking his hair.  
" What happened?" asked Sherlock.  
" He had an accident, his carriage crashed not so far from here…I found him and he asked me to bring him here but I haven't seen…all that blood…" said Gina almost crying. Iris checked Ryu, when she unbuttoned his black uniform the once white shirt that he wore was completely red, the black did well to hide it…  
" I'm going to find a doctor, Iris, keep him alive. I'm back in a minute!" shouted Sherlock and ran to the street. He was fast and arrived to the doctor's house quickly, sending him first while he called the police, in his way he saw the place of the accident and couldn't help but investigate. It really looked like an accident, but the rain was washing away the clues that could have told otherwise; tracks, blood or footprints. Sherlock couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, that it was no bad luck…  
Not so far he found a leather bag that he recognized as Naruhodou's filled with evidence, as he saw the teapot pieces and the receipt he conected the ideas and knew the truth of the Baskerville case. Now he was sure that it was no coincidence.  
He saw the police carriage pass by and he ran back to Baker Street, he saw the door opened just as he had left it, however, the police men had stopped before entering, all of them had removed their hats…  
" Holmesies!" Iris ran and hugged him, she was crying " I couldn't do it…I couldn't…"  
" Iris, what's wrong?"  
" Narudy…he…he" before Iris could talk Holmes made his way into the house and what he saw broke his heart, he lost his breath and just stood with his gaze fixated on his friends. Susato was hugging Ryuunosuke's upper body like if he was a child, he had his eyes closed and his chest wasn't moving anymore, she couldn't stop crying, her tears falling into Ryu's black uniform.  
Naruhodou Ryuunosuke had died.  
Sherlock couldn't belive it, he felt like it was all a nightmare, he wanted to wake up and seeing him alive, looking lovingly at Susato or drinking tea with Iris. Anything but dead…  
The doctor looked at Holmes. "There was nothing I could have done" he said, but it fell on deaf ears. A policeman tried to separate Susato and Ryu's body to start the investigation but she didn't allow it, she held him even tighter. Sherlock didn't know how much time had passed but he couldn't stay quiet anymore, he walked softly to Susato's side and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't even flinch, it was like she and Ryu were in a whole world apart from everyone else.  
" Ms. Susato…" she kept crying, Holmes would have joined her if it wasn't for one thing that was strong in his mind; he swore that he would find the truth for his friend, for poor Susato…for all the years as partners. He couldn't give up and cry yet. " It's alright…you have to let the police investigate."  
" Holmes-sama…I-I don't want to let him go…I can't" her voice was low and broken, it almost hurt to listen to it.  
" You don't have to." Holmes got a little more closer and could see Ryu's bloodied face, he looked calm, almost like if he was just sleeping. " He would never leave you, even now he's still with you, in your heart, you can feel it too, right? He loved you so much Ms. Susato, there's no need for you to keep holding his body…his soul will be here with you, always." She kept crying but her grip started to lose, Holmes kept talking to her as sweet as he could. " Nothing can hurt him now, let them take him. I know it's hard but we have to move on, there are things that we must find out…for his sake. I promise that he will be in good hands, trust me."  
Susato nooded, she kissed Ryu's forehead before slowly putting him down to rest. As soon as she left him she turned around and hugged Holmes strongly, he signaled with his hand to Iris and Gina and they also hugged him.  
" It's just so unfair…"  
The police took away the body and left them where they were, crying a pain that just they could understand. The rain stopped shortly after but not for them...

Not for them.


	5. Aftermath

Present  
**June 21, 9:00 pm**  
**Justice and Co. Law Offices**

Phoenix felt like he had no time to lose and went back to the crime scene to find as much information as he could. To his surprise, Ema Skye was already in there, staring at Apollo's blood stained chair.  
"Ema!"  
"Mr. Wright! Oh!" she looked at him "I didn't know that you were here, you even brought Trucy."  
"Trucy?" he turned and saw his daughter standing just behind him, she was looking at the floor in shame. "Trucy! What are you doing here? I told you to—" Phoenix found himself unable to scold her when he saw a pair of tears falling from her eyes.  
"Polly…" she was now looking at the blood too. "I'm sorry daddy, I just couldn't stay quiet anymore…I have something very important to tell you."  
"Truce…what's wrong?" Phoenix saw the same Psyche-locks from before, but now they were trembling like crazy.  
"If Polly is hurt I don't want to hide information from you if that helps to find the truth, I think he would do the same…" the locks exploded almost all together. Phoenix was relieved but also very worried, he thought that he would be unable to break these locks due to the bond between his daughter and Apollo, but if Trucy took the iniciative all by herself that meant that she was really scared…scared enough to reveal that secret to him "Polly sent me a message while we were on the plane, he asked me to retrieve something and keep it safe for him. But he told me that it was important that I kept it a secret from everyone…"  
"Something…for you to retrieve?"  
Trucy then held in her hand her old magic panties, Ema stared at them with a confused look in her face until Trucy appeared a small black book in her hands. She gave it to Phoenix who looked at it carefully.  
"Don't tell me…" he opened it and felt his heart skipping a bit; right in the first page, written in english and also japanese, was the name "Naruhodou Ryuunosuke"  
"You knew about it Daddy?" asked Trucy.  
"…" Phoenix looked at Ema, but she still looked confused.  
"I have no idea of what it is Mr. Wright, and as long as it's something irrelevant to the case I have no reason to take it to the police" that's right, the only lead to that diary being important was written in Apollo's journal so the cops and Ema had no way to know of its importance, however, Ema was smart and knew that if Apollo wanted to hide it it would surely be important. And still, she let it pass.  
Phoenix needed to check that diary, however, it was dangerous to see it in there amd he still needed all the info he could obtain from the crime scene.  
"Thank you Trucy, I owe you one" Phoenix kissed his daughter's forehead and put the journal at his jacket's inner pocket. Trucy hugged him.  
" Will Polly be okay?" she asked. Phoenix remembered Apollo's words and gulped, he couldn't hide anything of her even if he tried to..  
" I'm not sure…but let's hope the best for him, okay?" Trucy nooded, he patted her head and then looked at the young detective. "Ema, what did you find here?"  
"Oh, to put it simple it's a mess. We don't know what it's important to the case and what isn't. There are documents all over the floor and we don't know if they are here as a consecuence of a fight or a theft."  
Phoenix knew thanks to Apollo's journal that the papers were there because Datz was tidying the office, but he couldn't say that to Ema.  
"I would discard both, the window was already broken when we discovered the office and, if you can see, the glass shards are on top of the paper, so it was in the floor first."  
"Oh! That's true Mr. Wright! But then, if there wasn't a fight, how did Apollo ended up wounded?"  
That was a good point.  
"Look! There are prints in the paper!" exclaimed Trucy "I'm sure this one's from you, daddy!"  
"You're right Trucy! But they're a mess now! Many people has entered this place."  
"But look, I know which ones are from Polly but…" Trucy paled. The prints that she said were Apollo's were all surrounded by drops of blood, they went from the door to his chair and then to the window where a bigger splatter could be seen.  
"He entered by the door? What?" wondered Ema. "And he was already wounded…there are no prints of someone following him, I must examine them all to determine whose they are to be sure."  
"But nobody could have moved with that kind of wound…" said Phoenix. "What's more, there looks like there are no prints at all from an assailant, they should be in front of Apollo's since the position of the sword showed that he was stabbed from the front…this just doesn't makes sense."  
"But the facts are that he moved, you found him at his desk, not here." Commented Trucy.  
"Maybe he had something important at his desk."  
His journal…  
Ema got close to the desk and examined it.  
"I didn't know that he was a Sherlock Holmes fan, he has all the books here! But there's nothing interesting here, it's so strange…"  
"Sherlock Holmes?" inquired Trucy "Polly is more like a manga guy, I supoose there's not a lot of manga here in Kura'in."  
Apollo mentioned Sherlock's book in his journal; they were from his father, but Sherlock's name was also written in the bloody page. Phoenix checked the books and found one that was clearly different from the others; it's covers were made of leather and it looked really old, it was brown and had a flower like logo. He was about to open it when a loud yell filled the room.  
"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!" a short boy entered by the door followed by a small dog, they both looked altered.  
"Ahlbi!" Phoenix recognized him. The boy looked at him.  
"Mr. Wright! Where's Apollo? I've been looking for him all the afternoon! What's this mess?"  
"Calm down Ahlbi, he was attacked a few hours ago and we're investigating it. Do you know something?"  
"A-attacked? Who could want to hurt Apollo? He's too kind…" he closed his fists in anger. "I need to see him!"  
"Wait!" Phoenix stopped him in his tracks, he guided him out of the office so Trucy wouldn't heard what he was about to say. "You can't see him right now, he…he's bad. It would be helpful if you can look for Datz, he may need to know."  
"Mr. Wright! I deserve to know too, please! You look very pale all of a sudden, is he…dead?"  
"No no. The doctors are working hard on him but he needs to be trasladed to another hospital in order to save his life but he can't yet." Phoenix felt like a kid like Ahlbi wouldn't understand at all, but he couldn't resist the puppy eyes, he resembled young Trucy so bad.  
"Why not?"  
"He's a suspect of robbery. I will clean up his name so he can get the help he needs, don't worry about it."  
"Robbery? Apollo?" he looked really surprised "Who accused him? I can't think in anyone, he's known as a man who can help at anything! Even yak milking!"  
"W-what?" Phoenix almost laughed at his mental image of Apollo milking a yak, but he focused at the conversation. But then Ahlbi jumped while screaming and startled Phoenix.  
"Baskerville! It has to be Baskerville, right?"  
"How did you know?!"  
"He came to the office earlier. He confronted Apollo for something but then left, I saw him as I was taking lunch to Apollo. Baskerville looked really mad."  
"He came to the office? At what time?"  
"Early in the morning, Apollo had just opened the office."  
"So, Apollo was okay when he left."  
"Yes, but he looked worried."  
"I can't shake the feeling that Mr. Barkerville is involved in Apollo's attack, but I have no evidence to prove it." Phoenix murmured to himself.  
"But Barkerville isn't a very nice guy, I-I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" and then he ran away, slipping away from Phoenix's watch. Phoenix just stood there for a moment; he now had another clue that tied Baskerville with the attack, but he too had the sword pointing to von Karma. Just thinking about the sword made his head hurt, just what connection could have Franziska with Apollo?  
He thought at the three books now in his possesion; Apollo's journal, Ryuunosuke's journal and the Holmes' strange book. He had already checked Apollo's and it had very few clues to use, the next would be Ryuunosuke's.  
He opened it after checking at his surroundings. Fortunately, it was written in english, it was bad at first but as he continued reading the writer kept getting better. It had A LOT of notes, proper for a journal, reading it in its entirety would take weeks, just what was so important about an old journal? Which part?  
Phoenix skipped to the last pages and realized that there where several of them missing, brown stains could be seen at some places, he could swear that it was blood, most probably from the author. The last entry was clear:  
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the day.  
I have been fiddling with the ring since I picked it up this morning. I've been avoiding looking at Susato given the fact that she can read me like a book, she would know immediately that I'm hiding something. I know that she is worried about me for keeping distance but it will all worth it.  
Tomorrow, after checking Mr. Baskerville's case, I'm going to propose to Susato Mikotoba."  
It was so cute, but Phoenix felt a shiver by looking at the dried blood and thinking about what could have happened to Ryuunosuke. And then, he almost screamed; "Mr. Baskerville's case". It couldn't be, why was that name written in there? What could that mean?  
He felt frustrated, maybe the missing pages contained all the details, but after a century there was no way in which he could find them. He suddenly realized that Apollo must have realized something if he tried so hard to hide it, he had to get more information about this "Ryuunosuke Naruhodou". He had to pay a visit to England's embassy, just where Mr. Alexander Baskerville worked…

"It was stolen ten years ago." Said Franziska, dead serious. "I've been investigating every smuggling ring I could to find it, I would have never guessed that I would find it at a lawyer's chest."  
Rude.  
Blackquill had asked Edgeworth to contact Franziska via video chat to obtain information about the sword Karuma, as soon as she heard that name she was eager to cooperate, it seemed really important to her.  
"So, you have no idea of who could be his current owner." Said Athena and then, by the look on Franziska's eyes, she was glad that it was only a video chat.  
"I'M IT'S CURRENT OWNER. It just happens that I haven't it in my possesion. It's the most treasured item in the Von Karma family, I have to take it back if it's the last I'll do."  
"Do you realize that saying that "you're the current owner" puts you under the light as a suspect for Mr. Justice's attack?" said Simon, mockingly.  
"Don't be a fool. No one would ever dare to accuse me."  
"You treathened them?"  
"I have no need of that." She smiled triumphantly. "I'm personally prosecuting this case…"


	6. The Great Detective

_A century ago._

_September 18, 6:25 am_

_Holmes' flat_

Naruhodou Ryuunosuke was dead.

Susato had watched herself how the life had escaped from his black eyes before he closed them one last time, how even with his beaten body he still smiled to her and touched her cheek with love…

"I hope that I will dream with you…" were his last words.

She had watched how he was put inside a casket and then buried the day after…

She had cried a lot but now, back at the place they called home, she just felt empty.

Sherlock didn't go to the funeral, he spent the day investigating both his death and Baskerville's case without finding a thing. He was desperate to find something that could point to Ryu's death as a murder, he was sure that it was, however, the police had clasiffied it as an accident and refused to investigate. The horse that was leading the carriage was found, the only one that dissapeared was the driver assigned to that carrier but the police assumed it was because he didn't want to be responsible for the accident, the reports said that the carriage was in bad state and broke in the turn thanks to the pressure. Naruhodo's autopsy report said that he had died due to blood loss, mainly by a severe wound in his middle and other in his head, both occasioned by carriage's pieces. Sherlock felt a deep pity for his friend, his death had been painful and slow, he didn't deserve that…he was a good boy, kind and loyal, but trustworthy above everything else. He had ended up as a lawyer almost by accident, it wasn't his dream or goal, but after a turnabout of events it turned to be his path, one that he never walked alone, he had been lost but also had found the right way again, he had saved so many people.

It was all just so unfortunate, so…unfair…

" Holmes-sama" the soft voice of Susato wasn't enough to drag him out of his world, he was again at his desk examining Naruhodou's bag, he thought that a clue could be waiting in there, even if he had checked it a dozen times. " You too…doesn't think it was an accident, right?"

" Yes…but there's no proof of that. It doesn't matter how much I look at it I won't change the facts…fate took away the life of our dear Naruhodou." Said Sherlock with a bitter and defeated tone. Susato started crying again but quickly dried her tears.

" I think there's one proof…" said with force.

" W-what?"

" I received Naruhodou-sama's belongings after he was buried, I haven't checked them up until this morning and something is missing. He always carried his journal with him, he used to take notes of everything in there and it always was in his chest pocket."

" But it wasn't there…"

" I looked for it everywhere I could but it remains lost. Susato believes that someone took it."

" It's impossible for it to be taken by a random thief, it was raining and Mister Naruhodou had things far more valuable than a notebook. Whoever took it knew what was it and its contents.."

" Maybe Naruhodou-sama discovered something…" suddenly, just as she was talking, Susato fainted and was about to fall to the floor, Sherlock reacted quickly and caught her.

" Woah, Ms. Susato, are you okay?"

" Yes, sorry about that. I have been feeling unwell lately, I came to think that that Baskerville curse really did a number on us…"

" Curses do not exist my lady, don't let such stories scare you. Since when were you feeling bad? Why didn't you tell us?"

" Since we started with the Baskerville case, but with all that happened I just ignored it…it's mostly in the morning, I feel kinda nauseus. You say curses doesn't exist Holmes-sama, but, that man was scary, he seemed to be talking seriously…"

Just then, Sherlock hit with a realization… he had said that Naruhodou's soul would be forever at Susato's side, but he never expected it to be so…literally. Susato was…no, just when he thought it couldn't be worse…

" You said you knew Baskerville-sama's neighbors, right? What can you tell about Moriarty-sama?"

" Moriarty…" Sherlock paled at the mention of that name, he jumped on his feet quickly " James Moriarty?" he asked.

" Yes, he told us about the curse back at Barkerville's manor."

Now Sherlock felt like he was the one about to pass out, that name, that cursed name. Holmes then ran to the street without hearing Susato's questions, he needed to do something immediately.

James Moriarty, the Napoleon of the Crime, was a terrible enemy, Sherlock knew that he was the mastermind behind every big crime in London but he never left a single clue behind, it was impossible to catch him. Sherlock have been chasing him for years but the man was too smart, too cautious; however, he had appeared in front of Susato and Naruhodou like it was nothing, he even gave them his name…why?

It was all a trap. A dirty trick to mock him, to made him see what he was capable to do, how he could be at plain sight and still be so untouchable.

Moriarty knew he was after him, he knew about Naruhodou and Susato, he knew it all… Sherlock was sure now, Naruhodou's death wasn't an accident, it was murder… James Moriarty killed him. But he had more important things to think right now, Moriarty would not stop at anything…he had to protect the girls at all costs.

lllllllllllllll

" B-but, Holmes-sama! Why? I-I can't just leave this, I can help you to find the truth, I have to! For Naruhodou-sama…"

Sherlock had asked Iris and Susato to pack their things and he had a carriage ready, it was past the midnight and the night was covered in thick fog. Susato didn't want to go, she wanted Sherlock to tell her the truth, but he couldn't.

" You will soon understand, Ms. Susato… maybe you will even forgive me, but for now there's no other choice, please." He gave them a bunch of documents but when Susato tried to take Naruhodou's sword Sherlock stopped her " I'm afraid you can't take it, anyone could recognize you for it."

" Recognize me?"

" Holmesies…no…" cried Iris.

" From this moment, you have to leave behind who you are, the documents are ready, you will now live with a new family far from here, you will be okay…I promise. It doesn't matter what happens you will never try to contact me, understood? I promise that one day we will see each other again, when I solve this case…" Sherlock resisted the urge to cry, Susato checked the papers and looked at him with her heart utterly broken.

" Holmes-sama…" and then they hugged, it was a strong and warm goodbye, bitter by pain and confusion but still sweet by the fact that they were the closest thing to a family that Sherlock could ask for, they loved each other so much…they couldn't shake the feeling that said them that someone was missing…

And so, the two girls departed to a destination that only Sherlock knew. He was confident that they would be okay, the Wrights were good people.

Susato Mikotoba and Iris Watson were no more… now, the world would hear of Susan and Isabelle Wright.

" Sorry Mr. Naruhodou…this is the only way…"

" Order! Order! What in blazes?! Mr. Holmes, are you trying to say that Mr. Baskerville is guilty?" asked the judge. It was Baserville's trial, it had been delayed after Naruhodou's death until Baskerville could get another lawyer. The new one was a fresh face, nobody had seen him before, Sherlock was in the witness stand and had presented the evidence that Naruhodou left. The prosecution agreed to the proofs being decisive, however, the attorney started laughing.

" I'm sorry Mr. Holmes, but I can't accept that. I can assure you, Mr. Baskerville never bought any poison."

" He signed the responsability and tried to burn it."

" Why would he burn something in his house if he could simply get rid of it in the street? According to him, he actually went to the Drug Store that afternoon, but…" the lawyer showed another receipt, signed by Baskerville as well. " He bought rat poison, not atroquinine, this can be confirmed by the owner of the Drug Store."

Sherlock couldn't deny that he had a point, however, he started to feel bad…this wasn't good.

" Mr. Naruhodou found this very evidence before he died, he would never forge evidence. There must be two receipts!"

" Seriously? You want to use the tragic death of Mr. Naruhodou to give you credibility, again…"

" What do you mean?"

Suddenly, the lawyer pulled out a black and small notebook, Sherlock paled as he recognized it to be Naruhodou's. " We found this not so far from the place where the accident ocurred. We believe that he threw it out the window when he felt his death was coming." He started to read it aloud. " Someone clearly wants to pin the crime on Mr. Baskerville, I found a receipt among the ashes from the library's fireplace that appears to be signed by him, however, the owner of the shop confims it to be a fabrication. He says that only Sherlock Holmes came to the shop before, what is he hiding from me? I've been doubting him for a while now, he acts strange and I never know what his truly intentions are, I must confront him tonight."

" Wait! That-that's not true! I wasn't there, and it was an accident, he had no way to know it beforehand and threw his journal!"

" No…it was no accident. Mr. Naruhodou was murdered, by you, no less." The entire court gasped, Sherlock couldn't believe it. " The truth is, you're no detective…you're a fraud. You use the sucess from others to build up your profile writting your stories, everyone knows the Great Detective and treats him like a deity, but that's just a book character in which you cowardly hide. For example, aren't the last cases shown in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" truly Naruhodou's?" he read some parts of the journal to prove his point. Sherlock couldn't say a thing, they have worked together in these cases so it was only natural that Naruhodou wrote them " You used him, you tried to pin the murder on Baskerville to make an interesting case, but then Mr. Naruhodou discovered you. You needed to silence him, being the honest man he was he would never agree to hide that fact so it was your only option. You only had to damage his carriage a little to made it look like an accident, you then saw him die in your own house… the doctor didn't arrive in time? Don't make me laugh, according to Scotland Yard you were the one who called him. You betrayed him to protect your secret and still had the guts to console his fianceé. Hell, you didn't even go to the funeral. "

" His fiancé? God, no…" Sherlock mumbled.

" Oh, so you didn't know." The lawyer searched between the journal's pages until he found a receipt, it was from a jewerly and proved that he had bought a ring.

Sherlock felt sick, the jury looked at him with plain hate and disgust, like if he was a cockroach.

" HE WAS MY FRIEND!" screamed Sherlock, smashing his fists against the witness stand. " HOW DARE YOU TO SAY SUCH THINGS!" He was mad, hurt and terribly pained, but he didn't cry. He used all his forces to hold himself, he bit his tongue as he saw the lawyer smiling, just then, he finally recognized him.

" James Moriarty…"

He then knew that he had fallen straight to a trap, that he had no way of win, that everything ended there…

But he couldn't give up.

He then ran away from the courtroom, fighting every guard he found in his path and escaping from that nightmare. His reputation didn't matter to him now, neither did his credibility as a detective… all that was left, was the truth.

Sherlock's life hit it's lowest point in the years to come. He had dissapeared from the public and everyone came to think that he was dead, but he didn't stop for even a second.

He did everything on his power until he finally casted suspictions upon Professor James Moriarty, he was able to point the public's attention into him and carried him into a trial thanks to a young ally detective. He had finally put the rope around his neck.

Naturally, the Professor was too proud to lose. He escaped prison and looked for revenge, but Sherlock was aware of that. He sent two letters that night, one carried hope… the other carried death.

" Sherlock Holmes…" Moriarty mumbled as they faced each other. Sherlock looked sick, he was thin and paler than usual, but Moriarty was also consumed by wrath. " I know you were a problem, but you managed to defeat me even when I reduced you to nothing. Well done"

" Now, why here?" they were right next to the top of a waterfall, so close that tiny drops of cold water fell into Sherlock's boots.

"I'm putting an end to this"

" You're going to kill me?"

" I'm no murderer, I wouldn't be able to live with the burden of killing someone."

" Huh? But you killed someone already…" Moriarty smiled, Sherlock just sighed and took a step closer to the waterfall.

" In a way, but…" Sherlock then lifted his arm, Moriarty felt his own being pulled and just opened his eyes in surprise. "I'm taking the real killer with me."

Sherlock had handcuffed himself and Moriarty together without him noticing.

" Are you insane?! You're…you…" but suddenly, Moriarty just started laughing aloud. "Dramatic as always, don't you? I wouldn't expect less."

" Before we both meet our deaths here…answer me. Just why? Why did you kill Mr. Naruhodou Ryuunosuke?"

" You killed him."

" His murder had your name written all over it, you wanted me to notice it…" Sherlock clenched his jaw "You killed him for an especific reason but you tried to cover that fact, that's why you made it obvious that it was you. That's not like you at all, you always manage to do everything from the shadows without lifting even a single suspicion. You planted false evidence in Baskerville's manor in order to made him believe that his client was guilty, you thought that it would made him drop the case and let you do as you pleased, but he, instead, decided to expose his client. That's when you proceded to kill him and retrive his journal, he had likely written his findings in there."

"He did, I read it aloud in court, don't you remember?"

"That diary wasn't his…you forged it. He never called me by my full name, he always called me Holmes-san, and only you knew where the forged evidence was hidden. You took his journal in order to create one and bend the truth…"

Then, Moriarty started laughing.

" I told you already…YOU killed him." Sherlock looked at him, the Professor was smiling "I did it to see you fall, if he discovered something is totally irrelevant because the only thing I wanted from him was his life! I wanted to show you how powerful I was and realize just with who were you getting involved, I wanted to give you a lesson. I wanted to ruin you! But, you know? There was a thing that I didn't have the need to forge…the receipt for the ring."

Sherlock stayed silent for a while, then punched Moriarty right in the face.

"He didn't deserve it! You should had killed me instead! He was so young…his future was so promising…" Sherlock couldn't contain his punches, he felt so mad and yet so broken…"You ruined a family, MY FAMILY! You left…you left a son without his father…" he didn't know that he was crying, his tears fell without any control. He stopped hitting Moriarty when he felt his fist dripping with blood. Moriarty looked at him and still smiled, even with all the blood covering his face.

" I must recognize, Naruhodou Ryuunosuke was truly determined. After the accident I indeed went to retrieve his journal, he was badly injured but awake, he asked me for help…of course, he asked the wrong person. He had been impaled by a large piece of wood, I had to take it off in order to kill him…but, I could swear that he was dead when I left the place. Still, he managed to arrive at Baker Street and die at your door, that determination of his was dangerous… it led him to clues that you will never find."

"So, you killed him for that…"

"What?"

"You had a reason after all!"

Moriarty's smile faded, he had said too much. However, Sherlock chuckled.

"I knew it. Mr. Naruhodou was far too smart, even for you." Sherlock dropped something to the ground, but before Moriarty could found out what it was he felt a strong pull at his arm. "With you out of the way for sure…she will finally be able to reach the truth." And then, Sherlock jumped right into the wild water, taking Moriarty to death along him…


	7. The Son of the Dragon

Chapter 7: The Son of the Dragon.

The case so far:

Past:

-Henry Baskerville was accused of murder, the evidence points at him as the true culprit.

-The Professor James Moriarty forged evidence, but it's still unclear exactly which one.

-Ryuunosuke Naruhodou was killed, however, his death was declared an accident.

-Sherlock Holmes investigates but discovers that Susato is pregnant and hides her along with Iris under the Wright family.

-Sherlock is exposed as a fraud and liar during a public trial in which Moriarty acts as a lawyer to carry on with his plan. His career is ruined and his investigation is put on hold.

-Sherlock manages to ruin Moriarty and confronts him. He discovers that Ryuunosuke was killed because he knew something, Holmes suspected it but was too late. He left something behind after calling for someone by letter and then commited suicide, taking Moriarty along.

Present:

-Apollo was attacked at his office. He needs a surgery to save his life but Alexander Baskerville, England's ambassador in Kura'in, accuses him of theft and impides him to be trasladed.

-Phoenix and Athena took his case to clear his name as soon as possible.

-The weapon used to hurt Apollo was an ancient sword named Karuma, it once belonged to Ryuunosuke but it's said to belong to the Von Karma family. Franziska claims that it was stolen.

-The crime scene doesn't show signs of someone entering the office, but the attack certainly happened there.

-Wright has three important pieces of evidence:

Ryuunosuke's journal.

It lacks several pages, but shows a connection to Baskerville's past

Apollo's journal.

Among notes from past days, it contains a bloody writting with clues that himself left.

"JOURNAL. HOUND. KARMA. RYUUNOSUKE. SHERLOCK. BARKERVILLE"

Sherlock Holmes' old book.

Unchecked.

-Ahlibi said that Baskerville argued with Apollo in the incident's day morning.

Present

June 21, 10:25 pm

Kura'in Hospital

"Mr. Wright, please come to the clinic as soon as possible. Mr. Justice's condition has gotten worse, we're losing him." said the last phone call Phoenix received. He wasn't expecting it, he was planning to go to the Embassy and get more info about Ryuunosuke, but he couldn't leave Apollo, not now when he needs him the most, not now when he may as well spend his last moments alone.

He came along with Trucy, holding her hand in a protective way. When Phoenix finally arrived to Apollo's room he was surprised to find Nahyuta and Barkerville, arguing quietly in a corner.

"Mr. Wright" greeted Nahyuta.

"Prosecutor Sahdmadhi…" right, he was Apollo's brother. Phoenix looked at Apollo and noticed that he wore a heavier oxygen mask and now was connected to even more machines, he felt his heart drop. "What happened?"

"He can't breath on his own." Nahyuta looked sadly at his brother. "They don't know how much time he has left."

"Oh…poor Polly…" lamented Trucy, holding Apollo's hand.

Phoenix clenched his teeth, Baskerville still had the courage to watch him die. He hold himself together, he had to for Apollo and Trucy's sake.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Baskerville. The man, however, had lost the confident look he had earlier, he was just standing with a neutral expression.

"I wanted to…meet him"

"Really? You meet him this morning at his own office, don't tell me you forgot." Argued Phoenix, remembering Ahlbi's testimony. Baskerville jumped.

"H-how did you…" but then he covered his face and sighed "I had to discuss a certain suject with him, nothing else. I barely talked to him."

"What did you discuss?"

"I can't tell you. But I never thought that he would end the day like this…"

"Are you implying that you actually worry about him? Is this…some kind of bad joke?" Phoenix slammed a small table, startling Baskerville. "Why don't you retire those charges instead? I assure you that he's not a thief, I'm not talking as his lawyer but as his friend…you don't know Apollo as I do, he would never even dear to steal. I've watched him grow and I care about him almost like a son. You can't just leave him die like that…please." His voice cracked at the last part, Baskerville watched him in awe.

"I-I just can't retire that charges, or else…" but he bit his tongue lightly, like trying not to talk more than necessary.

"Or else what? Mr. Baskerville, are you…being treathened?"

"Of course not!" Phoenix was expecting Psyche Locks to appear, but not even one was visible. What was he planning then?

"Daddy! Look!" yelled Trucy while looking at the window, she had moved the curtains to see the outside. From Phoenix's point of view he could see the curtains colored with a soft orange, like if there were fire behind. He got closer, opened the curtains and what he saw left him frozen.

There was a lot of people outside of the hospital, more than Phoenix could count, they had a lot of flags with the symbol of the Defiant Dragons on them, like the day the revolution started. But this time, the people wasn't fighting or yelling. Each one of them was holding a lighted candle in their hands, the soft light being amplified to look like a strong fire. At the front of everyone were Beh'leeb and Ahlibi.

The reason of their act was unclear until they raised some posters: "Please save the Son of the Dragon", "Justice for Apollo", "Beware Baskerville", "May the Holy Mother save his soul", "A dragon never yields".

Phoenix couldn't believe it, he looked at them all with nothing but amazement. They were all cherishing Apollo, supporting him, everyone wanted him to survive…. He looked at Apollo and couldn't help but to cry, Nahyuta smiled at him.

"He has helped them all at some point, I'm not surprised at how much they love him." He said.

Trucy hugged her father.

"It's so amazing."

Phoenix haven't noticed that Baskerville was also watching, his eyes traveled from flag to poster, from candle to face. His fists were closing, he swallowed and then looked at the floor, however, his eyes didn't show anger, they showed a deep sadness and resignation. Phoenix wasn't expecting that either, the more he tried to understard Barkerville the harder it was, he had no way to know what was passing trough his mind.

"I…won't retire that charges." He stated. "But, I will allow him to receive the help he needs…just, take him to a real hospital for god's sake, I don't care."

Everyone else stayed quiet, not giving credit to what they just heard.

"Thank you!" yelled Trucy "Thank you so much, Mr. Baskerville!" she was crying a lot, Baskerville looked at her, then turned on his heels and proceed to leave the room.

"We will see if what you said it's true, Mr. Wright. See you in court."

"Hold it!" Wright reacted, he almost forgot."Mr. Baskerville, I need to ask you something."

"What is it, Mr. Wright?"

"What do you know about Naruhodou Ryuunosuke?"

Baskerville flinched lightly.

"I haven't heard that name in my life"

*KLANG!*

Five red locks covered Phoenix's sight, but before he could ask something Baskerville exited the room, taking his locks with him. Now it was clear, there just was something really important between Naruhodou and Baskerville, Phoenix felt like he was so close.

"Daddy, can you lend me your notebook?" asked Trucy and when Phoenix handed it to her she scribbled something on it before showing it in the window. The people outside smiled and held their candles higher.

"What did you write, Truce?"

"Thank you."

Phoenix smiled, the doctors entered the room and started to prepare Apollo to be trasladed, he was going to receive the help he needed, he was going to be okay at last. But just before exiting the room Phoenix saw a sign among the crow that got his attention: "The hound won't defeat a dragon."

A single word stuck on his mind like if it was some sort of curse.

HOUND.

He felt a shiver ran through his body as he remembered that word written shakily in Apollo's journal.

"What's wrong Mr. Wright? You are as pale as a sheet." Asked Nahyuta.

"Prosecutor Sadmadhi, are you going to prosecute this case?"

"The theft charges? No, the prosecutor will be Franziska Von Karma."

"F-Franziska!" Phoenix could almost feel the whip hitting furiously at him."It has to be the sword's fault…"

"Indeed, the good news are that the trial won't be tomorrow. You have one more day to investigate, Mr. Wright, I thought you were noticed already."

"One…more day." Phoenix suddenly felt light, in a couple of minutes a big part of the burden was lifted from his shoulders even if it was temporary; Apollo was going to receive proper help, he had a whole day to search for more clues and question Baskerville, he already had Ryuunosuke's diary and Trucy was safe. He couldn't ask for more at that moment. He sat down in a near chair and let out a long sigh. "Thank god…"

"You okay Daddy?" asked Trucy.

"Yeah" he smiled at her and patted her head. "Just very tired all of a sudden."

"You should rest a little Mr. Wright, you won't be very useful if you end up like a walking dead."

"Just help me with one thing Prosecutor Sadhmadhi, please. Who is the hound?"

"Alexander Barkerville. There's a tale that says that the Baskerville family was cursed by the spirit of a demon hound, it killed one of its members long ago and tormented another one, that last story is very famous because it's written in a Sherlock Holmes story. Mr. Alexander used it as an advantage and took the hound as his symbol, it attracts lots of tourists."

"A Sherlock Holmes story?" Phoenix suddenly found sense on the words that Apollo had left written: "JOURNAL. HOUND. KARMA. RYUUNOSUKE. SHERLOCK. BARKERVILLE"

Ryuunosuke's journal and his sword, Karma. The Hound, Alexander Baskerville, and his connection to Sherlock Holmes. Phoenix deduced that they were things that Apollo wanted him to look, not things that he already knew. Now, Ryuunosuke's journal was missing several pages so it would be useless for now, however, Baskerville knew about Ryuu but is trying to hide it. The next step would be said man, Phoenix thought that it would be useful for him to know a little about the hound story, he had one Sherlock book after all.

He opened the book and discovered that it wasn't a book, it was filled with a lot of notes written by hand. The first page said:

"Ms. Susato, I'm sorry for everything, I'm so so sorry.

Just as you suspected, Mr. Naruhodou's death wasn't an accident, he was killed by the man you know as James Moriarty. I have no concrete proof but I'm sure of it, you won't be able to find proofs either but I assure you that he was punished for it, however, it cost me my life as well. Don't be sorry for me, it was my decision and now you will be safe too.

However, my dear Ms. Susato, there's still part of the truth that remains in the dark. I know Mr. Baskerville is involved in Mr. Naruhodou's murder, I know you will be able to find it out and solve this case that has brought so much pain to us.

I will leave you all the evidence I could find, I hope the best for you. Please, tell Iris that I'm sorry, if it's in your hearts to forgive me one day I will be so grateful and my soul may rest in peace.

Take care of little Naruhoudou.

Sherlock Holmes."

At first, Phoenix found himself confused as hell. He thought that it was a joke, that someone was playing to be the Great Detective and wrote everything in that notebook as a joke. But the name of Susato made him consider the idea, she was named in Naruhodou's journal too.

Sherlock Holmes had to be real…

Phoenix continued checking the book in his way to where they would sleep, at In' mee's house. He found notes of Naruhodou's murder, too detailed that it made him believe that it only had happened a couple days ago.

He stayed at an armchair, reading for a while, however, he was soon asleep with the book still at his hands.

He opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings, however, there wasn't much to see. It was completely white, there was no walls or furniture, just a light fog.

He knew that he was dreaming, there was no place like this in the real world, he just knew. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that something in there was familiar. He walked around, searching, and found a black stain not so far from him.

Usually one would be afraid of that kind of things but Phoenix wasn't, he actually felt attracted to it. He started to get close and with each step the figure turned clearer. It was a man, his back was turned at Phoenix so he couldn't see his face.

"Uh, hello?" greeted Phoenix. The man flinched and turned suddenly, in his face the surprise was clearly written.

"Ryuuichi?..." the man asked. Phoenix didn't understand exactly what he wanted to say but now that he looked at him it was a terryfing sight. He wore what looked like an old japanese uniform but it was all covered in blood, his face was full with red streaks as well.

"Uhhh…n-no, the name is P-Phoenix" he was scared, the man seemed to notice it and raised his hands.

"Sorry! Sorry! I-I don't want to scare you…please, don't go away!" his voice was shaking and his body seemed blurrier as he get nervous. He touched his head like if it hurt him.

"I won't! I promise, I promise. Calm down, please." Phoenix got close and tried to touch him, he managed to put his hand at his shoulder but it only made the man to look at him with his eyes wide open and then touch his arm as well, he was very amazed but quickly took a paur of steps back.

"Sorry, that was rude of me!" he bowed in a polite way but Phoenix only felt a bit unconfortable."It's just that…you're the first person I've seen in a while…forgive me."

"It's okay. Who exactly are you?"

"Oh, my name is Ryuunosuke, Naruhodou Ryuunosuke, defense attorney. And you are…Wright-san, right?"

"N-Naruhodou?!" Phoenix bit his tongue, the case had to be rooted so deeply into his mind that he was now dreaming about it.

"You know me?!"

"I've heard of you, plenty of times just today, actually. Your sword, your journal, your…murder."

"Oh…" his eyes were sad now, he looked at the ground.

"Also about Baskerville and your fiancé."

"M-my fi…" he got quiet, touching his head with both hands. "Susato-san!" he yelled. "Y-you have to tell Holmes-san that it was Moriarty! James Moriarty killed me! But it was on Baskerville's sake, he's involved with…with something…ah…why can't I remember? W-why?" he was panicking again, his body blurred badly until he fell on his knees.

"H-hey! Calm down Mr. Naruhodou, please look at me!" Phoenix kneeled at his level and put his hands at Ryu's shoulders. "I can't do that, I-I don't even know Holmes…"

"He lives at Baker Street, you could easily find him."

"Mr. Naruhodou…" Phoenix sighed "This won't be easy to hear but, a lot of time has passed since then, I can't possibly find him anymore…"

"…" Ryu saw Phoenix again "Y-your clothes, I've never seen something like that…" he put his hands at the floor, like looking for support. "Which year is this? Please, Ryuuichi, tell me…"

(Why he keeps calling me Ryuuichi?)a

"…2028"

Naruhodou stayed silent, his head hidden between his arms, Phoenix thought that he had screwed it, me may bit recover from that. But then an idea crossed his mind, was Ryuunosuke…even real?

"A…whole century…" his voice was low and broken, he lifted his head slowly, showing that he was crying. "I-I remember it now…I saw Susato-san a pair of times, she was older but…sad. I knew that a long time had passed but I didn't think it would be that long…" he sniffed. "Wright-san…"

"I'm sorry, really…"

"You think that…can you…can you help me, please?" he begged.

"Of course!"

"I don't care what happens to me, I can stay here forever if I must but…my dear Susato." He wipped his tears. "She can't rest in peace, I just know it, I can feel her sadness. Please, solve this case!" he looked at Phoenix right in the eye. Phoenix had thought that the truth he just told him would be enough to break him, but now that he looked at his eyes he found a determination and resolve stronger than he imagined, he had never seen anything like that. "If you bring the entire truth to light she will finally find peace! Even if it's of no use for you, please, I'n begging you." He unconsciously touched his attorney's armband. "Save her! Save Susato-san, please!"

Phoenix suddenly felt a pinch. He knew what Ryuunosuke was feeling, he knew it so well. He never cared what happened to him if that meant that Maya would be alright, or Trucy, or Apollo, Athena…everyone he cared about…

On the other hand, he actually needed to know the truth of that case to solve Apollo's. He just knew that an important clue was hidden for him in there.

"I'll gladly help you! Someone important to me needs that true as well if you can believe it."

"Oh..really?!"

"But I need you to tell me all you know about it, please."

"I'm sorry but, as you can see, my memory is a mess. I can hardly remember anything at all now…" his face was sad, vut Phoenix wasn't going to give up so easily.

"You had a journal, it lacks several pages so it must had something important."

"My journal!" he yelled, happy "I put everything on there! Everything! Even if I can't remember you will surely find all in there!" He poked at his chest poket "The lacking pages! I tore them up to hide them!"

"W-what?! Seriously?!"

"I just…can't remember wher I put them…but! Ryuuichi! I was inside a carriage when I hid the pages, the windows were sealed so there must be a place in the inside that would definitely contain them!"

As Phoenix had read in Sherlock's book, the police and himself had checked the entire carriage and nothing was found. If Ryuu was sure that he had hidden them then it must had been in something that wasn't at the final crime scene. He would find it out if it was the last thing he would do.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Naruhodou!"

And then, Ryuunosuke smiled and for an instant the blood that covered his face was almost unnoticeable, his smile was far too great. Phoenix could swear that he had seen a smile just like that one somewhere else.

Just as Phoenix thought that last the suddenly woke up. He was again at the armchair, the Holmes' book was closed at a near coffee table and he was covered by Trucy's cape.

He thought carefully at what he had just dreamt, not knowing if it was of actual help or just a crazy invention of his head. And then he stuck with the realization that he had never actually seen Ryuunosuke's face or aspect and yet he had saw it, so clearly that the could touch him…

He know for a fact that ghosts were real, the chance that he had seen the man's ghost was completely possible. He even had the wounds that killed him.

Another point was that he had called him in a way that he had never heard before. "Ryuuichi". What exactly did that mean?

He took Ryuu's journal and checked it quickly trying to find said word, he was surprised to actually find it and even more when he read the entire text.

"Ryuuichi" was the name meant to Ryuunosuke's son.

Then, the ghost had called him like that because he thought that he was his son. No, he had FELT it.

Phoenix knew that because, as strange as it sounds…he could felt that too. Like they were father and son, like if they were…family.


	8. The Blooming Attorney

A century ago.

December 18, 8:25 pm.

Reichenbach Falls

Susato found herself standing in the only hallway the falls had. Her clothes were pretty damped by the time she reached the end where she was expecting to meet a man, instead, she just found a bunch of books.

She had received a letter two weeks ago. She would never forget the handwritting of that man even if she wanted to, she recognized instantly who had sent that letter. Said letter didn't say much, Holmes just wanted to see her at the falls, just in the point she was right now.

She was afraid. The hallway had prints but they only went in one way, the two owners of the prints had never returned. She knew what had happened, but she refused to believe it. She was still hoping to see Sherlock Holmes waiting for her, she begged for him to be alive…

She looked at the books in the floor and her heart jumped; she recognized both Sherlock and Naruhodou's journals. She took and held them strong against her chest, her eyes started to water when she confirmed her worst fear at the moment she opened Sherlock's journal and found a letter written in the first pages:

"Ms. Susato, I'm sorry for everything, I'm so so sorry.

Just as you suspected, Mr. Naruhodou's death wasn't an accident, he was killed by the man you know as James Moriarty. I have no concrete proof but I'm sure of it, you won't be able to find proofs either but I assure you that he was punished for it, however, it cost me my life as well. Don't be sorry for me, it was my decision and now you will be safe too.

However, my dear Ms. Susato, there's still part of the truth that remains in the dark. I know Mr. Baskerville is involved in Mr. Naruhodou's murder, I know you will be able to find it out and solve this case that has brought so much pain to us.

I will leave you all the evidence I could find, I hope the best for you. Please, tell Iris that I'm sorry, if it's in your hearts to forgive me one day I will be so grateful and my soul may rest in peace.

Take care of little Naruhoudou.

Sherlock Holmes."

Sherlock was gone. This was the last case of the Great Detective.

Susato just wanted to stay there and cry until her eyes dry, but she couldn't, she couldn't let Sherlock's life to be in vain, she needed to find the truth.

She read all she could from both journals even if her heart ached with each word, with each memory. The evidence Sherlock left wasn't a lot; Naruhodou's evidence bag, a broken tea pot, two receipts from a drug store and a ticket from a jewerly along to a small box. Susato knew what was inside but, in sake of her, she didn't open it. If she took even a glance at it she would be unable to move anymore.

She climbed the hallway back again to go home, praying all the way for Holmes' soul and hugging the evidence bag. It was starting to get dark.

"Stop" said a deep voice, startling Susato. She lifted her gaze and found a big man, pale and visibly tired. The man was holding a gun and pointing at Susato. "Hand over the evidence, I know you have it"

"Mr. Baskerville…"

"Ms. Naruhodou." That hurt, even more coming from the man who was involved in Ryuu's murder. "This doesn't have to end here for you, please."

"You are ready to kill me if there's no other way?"

"I would prefer not to. I'm tired of all this."

"You killed the victim at your manor, you needed an attorney to get you out of the hook but Naruhodou-sama discovered the truth."

"…" Baskerville's expression didn't change. Susato kept herself strong.

"And now you're trying to get rid of the last evidence that's left from your crime."

" I see no point in hiding it from you anymore, the case is closed, all the people involved is dead. It's not like you can do anything at all." Baskerville said, serious. "Yes, I killed that man. But I had to."

"But Moriarty was your ally, why didn't you use his resources? And then later why you let Naruhodou-sama to defend you if Moriarty could get you declared innocent in an instant? Holmes-sama told me everything."

"I HAD to…" Baskerville made his gun click. "That's enough. Now. The evidence!" he now looked nervous."I know that you have a child, you have to return with him, forget all of this and focus in your son. If I ever find you again I won't hesitate to kill you, I don't want to kill anyone else so please. I already have the weight of four lives on my shoulders…"

("Four?") Susato held her tongue enough to not actually ask. She knew more than she let him to see, she was smart as always and she wouldn't let him win so easily.

Susato gave the evidence to Baskerville, bitting her lip. And him, just as he received it was like it burnt him just by touching it. Baskerville checked the evidence, took Ryuunosuke's journal and threw the rest into the fall.

"I have to make sure exactly what did this attorney discover…you can now forget all of this. We shall never meet again." And then he ran.

Susato looked at the fierce water for a while, she knew that the evidence was now lost forever, however, the truth was still at her reach. Not everything was lost.

She ran too but to an opposite direction, looking behind all the time to make sure that she wasn's being followed. She found a stone right where Sherlock said in his journal it was and lifted it, finding a metal box.

She opened it and found a new note from Sherlock:

"I knew you could do it Ms. Susato.

I deduced that Baskerville would like to come and make sure that all the evidence from his case dissapears. It's okay, we're a step ahead of him.

During his trial, Moriarty presented Mr. Naruhodou's journal, forged. So, we had two journals in existence. However, Moriarty wasn't able to destroy the original since it dissapeared as soon as the forged one was finished. In truth, Baskerville stole it as a guarantee and it stayed hidden until a few days ago, you will find it in this box along with my own journal. Being the nervous man he is, Baskerville won't check my journal and just dispose of it so, as you may have seen, it was a book in blank with the two notes for you.

However, he will keep Mr. Naruhodou's journal to compare it with the one he has and make sure that he has both the original and the forged. Here is when your next mission starts.

He doesn't have the original anymore, it's in this box, so when he notices it he will panic and will want to find it at any cost. You must hide it until the moment for the truth cames, it must feel like an eternity passes before it's time but it will surely come.

I believe in you and I'm sincerely sorry to put this burden upon your shoulders Ms. Susato, only you can finish this now.

I wish the better for you.

Sherlock Holmes.

P.D. I also saved your ring, Mr. Naruhodou would like you to have it."

"Oh, Holmes-sama…thank you." She murmured, putting the small right in her hand. Teass soon rolled down her cheeks again but she wouldn't let that it stop her.

She stood on her feet carrying the metal box and ran foward, accepting that her life would only be harder since then. But she didn't care.

She would always keep moving foward for all of those who were left behind; Ryuunosuke and Sherlock. And those who will walk at her side; Iris and little Naruhodou, her dear child.

Susato's next move was to build a case against Baskerville. Moriarty was gone and with that, Baskerville had lost his protection, he confessed to the murder on that millionaire at his manor but said that he had to.

The police discovered that Barkerville would inherit a large fortune from the victim and believed that it was his motive, however, Sherlock had his doubts.

Why did Baskerville killed the man if himself was already rich?

Susato spent a lot of time and effort to try and answer that question, she had chased Baskerville in every way possible and obtained a lot of information.

Baskerville wasn't living in London anymore, he had been offered a high position in the United Kingdom embassy at a foreign country and he was now living in that country. The Kingdom of Kura'in.

It was a special position, only reachable by legacy or bloodline due to Kura'in's laws.

Susato found out that the previous ambassador was the man that died at Baskerville's hands. Deducing the rest, it was clear that Baskerville commited murder in order to inherit the position at the embassy, not the fortune.

The next questions would be; why he did his crime to appear so obvious? Why did he let Naruhodou defend him even if he had Moriarty to do the job?

Sherlock had been the one to get the defense request signed by Baskerville, he had met him before for a case and trusted him. Naruhodou never actually met the man.

At first, Susato believed that it was just an very innoportune action from Sherlock and that it had ended up getting everyone involved. But the signed letter changed everything, Baskerville had willingly acepted Naruhodou as his lawyer.

However, as soon as Ryuu discovered the truth he was murdered. Susato now knew that there were lost pages from Ryuu's journal that my be the last piece of the puzzle.

For now, Susato had no way to prove that Naruhodou's death was connected to Baskerville at all, Sherlock was sure that Moriarty was the one who killed him to put him out of the way but it was also highly possible that he discovered something that Moriarty didn't want to. This last was supported by the receipts from the drug store, one was clearly forged (the one with Sherlock as the customer) but the other was suspicious. It was found in Naruhodou's evidence bag so he had discovered it, but if Moriarty stole his journal he could've altered the receipt too at the moment of the accident. Sherlock left a note at his journal respecting this receipt; it was indeed burnt but it was "clean". Clean in the way that it wasn't covered by ash like the teapot, it was entirely posible that the receipt that Naruhodou found and the one that reached the team's hands were different.

That must be the secret written in the lost journal pages.

Last, Susato noticed that even if Baskerville was declared not guilty and inherited the fortune not so long after Ryuu's death he waited years to occupy his position as embassador. Why? What was helding him?

One day, a stranger showed up at Susato's new home.

"Ms. Susan Wright?"

"That's me, how can I help you sir?"

"First, to stop pretending…" the stranger pulled out a gun "Susato Mikotoba"

Susato felt her entire body going cold. The man pushed her into her house and kept pointing at her. She was alone, Iris and the Wright that took care of them had went to buy groceries.

"W-what do you want?" Susato asked.

"Sit there and read this, quickly." The stranger handed a envelope and pointed at a chair. Susato held the letter with trembling hands and did what she was asked to do.

"Ms. Susato Mikotoba.

I know you want to find the truth, I know how badly this case hurts you. You lost Mr. Naruhodou and Mr. Holmes and I sincerely apologize for it.

I decided that I'll confess. I have no reason to lie to you, actually, all I ask from you is that you listen to me and try to understand, please.

I killed that man in order to obtain this place at England's Embassy at Kura'in, I needed it. Now, you may ask why if it was already in his testament that I would inherit the place I still killed him. I needed to, I truly needed. It was my only option.

Moriarty controlled everything, my money, my home and my entire life. You know how messed up my nerves are, I felt like I couldn't handle it anymore.

It was all a plan. The man I killed was my best friend…Dr. James Mortimer. He was the first one to give up his life in my steem, it was all his idea, he left a letter in wich he explained everything in case it was needed.

I needed to get rid of Moriarty at any cost but I was unable to, he was so powerful. But then, I remembered Sherlock Holmes.

That man was all I needed, he was the only one capable of hunt down James Moriarty. But all he would do was to put him in prison and that was useless to me, he would continue his schemes. He needed to die.

I knew Mr. Holmes wouldn't do it and that's why, may god forgive me, I hired that lawyer; Naruhodou Ryuunosuke.

Holmes had told me about Mr. Naruhodou, he was a dear friend to him and a great man. I knew that if he got involved with Moriarty that would spurr Holmes into action to protect his friend. If he could capture Moriarty then I could finish the job and have my assistant kill him and end everything once and for all.

It wasn't my intention to get that man killed, I swear to god.

I don't know what he discovered at my manor, I don't know why Moriarty was so mad at him. I had nothing to do with his murder, it was Moriarty. That night he appeared at my cell and said: "Don't try to be smarted than me, Baskerville. You wanted that lawyer to help you, you tried to get rid of me. I'm afraid that Mr. Naruhodou just suffered an unfortunate accident, you will have to change your attorney if you want to get out of here."

He obligued me to sign his defense request and then showed me Mr. Naruhodou's bloodied journal…every night I dream with that poor man, I took him to his death by a selfish plan.

I'm so, so sorry Ms. Susato. Truly.

But it what happened next was just what I was hoping, even better. Sherlock Holmes went fully after Moriarty until he cornered him, he wanted revenge. You know how it ended.

Sherlock Holmes took his own life along with Moriarty's. And since then I was free at last.

I could get that place as an Ambassador that my dear friend had left to me, I had reached my goal.

But now I feel my sucess to be like a heavy burden, it took four lives to complete; Mortimer, Naruhodou, Holmes and Moriarty.

I'm sorry.

I know being sorry won't bring them back but I beg of you; stop chasing this case, please. We both have suffered a lot but I needed this, I'm now living peacefully at last, after so many sleepless nights, after all that suffering I'm at least being able to breath freely, to live.

I told you all the truth, it's done, it's the least I can do for you. But please, let me live.

Let me leave, and I will let you live in peace too. I will assure you a good life, Ms. Susato, for you and the child I left without a father.

Henry Baskerville."

At the end, Susato was shaking. She wasn't sure if it was out of fear, sadness of angery. All her deductions were true.

It was too much.

She wasn't sure of anything at that moment. Who was being more selfish? Baskerville, for wanting peace at her loved ones cost. Or her, for wanting the truth over his peace?

She was offered a quiet and comfortable life too, but, was it fair? Was it worth Ryuu's and Sherlock's lives? What would they want her to to do?

To find the truth.

But, she already knew it all. Now…what?

"So, Ms. Susato Mikotoba" murmured the stranger. "My name is Walter Barrymore, my family has served to the Baskervilles for ages and now I'm the one assigned to watch over you at my master's request." He was still holding the gun, he hasn't finished yet. "Now that you read it…" he aimed. "What will you choose? A peaceful life, or a quick death?"


	9. The Great Ghost

Present

June 22, 8:15 am

In'mee's House

"Thank God…" said Phoenix and felt the world's weight falling apart from his shoulders. He had received a call early in the morning from the hospital where Apollo had been taken. His surgery was sucessful and he was now recovering, it would take a long time but he was responding well. "Thank you so much doctor, really, thank you."

"It's my work Mr. Wright. But wait, I have one more thing to tell you; during the surgery we made an unexpected discovery; there were small shards of glass in Mr. Justice's lung, we have no concrete explanation since we were informed that he was stabbed with a sword, we believe that the sword had the glass on it and that's how it ended up in his lung but we aren't sure."

"G-glass shards?"

"They were really small, it was easy to miss them. We have removed them so there shouldn't be any further problems."

"Could you huh…write that on a report and send it to me, please?" Phoenix felt that it could be important, even if it made his stomach turn.

"Sure, I'll send it to your email."

"Thank you so much doctor, I'll call later."

When Phoenix hung the phone he felt a gaze upon him, he searched for its source and found the cute and blue eyes from his daughter.

"It was about Polly?"she asked. Phoenix smiled.

"Yes. He will be okay Truce, he's on his way to recovery right now."

Trucy's eyes started wetting immediately as she ran to hug her father. "I knew it! I knew that Apollo was too determined to live…I'm so happy right now, daddy!"

Phoenix was happy as well, even if he still had to fight Baskerville's charges at court.

"And what did you find in these old books?" Asked Trucy.

"The story behind them is…pretty dark. If this is indeed the real Sherlock Holmes' journal it seems like him and Naruhodou were friends, however, Naruhodou was killed by a criminal mastermind and his murder was a mistery that was left unsolved. There are pages from his journal that just vanished…"

"It's a very old book, I'm sure that it tends to happen."

"No, according to Sherlock Holmes they dissapeared the same day of the murder. They weren't stolen, Naruhodou had to hide them somewhere before his death."

Trucy stared at him, impressed.

"Daddy, you are quite interested in this case! But…I think that we must focus on the case at hand, don't we?"

"Oh" Trucy was right, even if he had promised the old ghost to solve his case, Apollo, a living person, also needed him. Trucy smiled for him.

"Don't worry Daddy! I'll help you solve it once we're done! You want me to take care of that books meanwhile?"

"Sure, why not." Phoenix handed her the books and she dissapeared them just before his eyes thanks to her magic panties. Thanks to that, an idea came flashing to Phoenix's mind.

"W-wait! Where do you put them after you dissapear them?"

"A magician never tell her secrets! You know it Daddy!"

"But you keep carrying them even if I can't see it, right?"

"Well yes!"

"Can a normal person hide something just like you?"

"Hmm? I guess so? They would have to have some kind of compartment in which they could store some things, like the inside of my magic panties!"

"The things are INSIDE the panties?!"

"Of course not! I won't tell you my secret!"

Phoenix laughed, however, he started to think on the possibility just presented to him. ("A secret compartment? Could Naruhodou have such a thing on him?")

"So, what's our next step, Boss?" the voice asking took Phoenix by surprise, but as soon as Athena and Simon entered the same room it all became clear.

"Athena! I-I…"

"You completely forgot about us, right?" Athena couldn't hide her dissapointment, it was written all over her face.

"You have to make sure to be less forgettable, Athena." Said Simon wearing a cocky smile.

"He forgot about you too, Simon!" she replied angrily but Simon just laughed.

"What were you two doing?" asked Trucy. Athena then proudly shoved them a sheet of paper.

"Tracking down Karma!" Athena yelled.

"Ms. Von Karma? She will be here tomorrow, right?" said Phoenix.

"Oh no Boss! Not Ms. Von Karma, Karma the sword."

"Oh." Phoenix received Athena's report, it even had a sketch. ("Naruhodou's sword! According to Sherlock's journal, he always kept it by his side. It may have witnessed his death…") he thought.

"It's a really old sword, there's no exact data about it's origin but it's truly a piece of art. From what I saw it's still pretty strong and well honed. After belonging to the Von Karma it was stolen and we didn't find any record until last year, it was found during an inspection of a black market dealer's house. Then it was sold by the police at a public auction, the buyer was unknown, however, it's confirmed that the sword was sent to Kura'in. Kura'in isn't a big country and even if it looks like everybody here can own a katana you actually need a license to have one within your possesion. And only one person here has that license and the posibility to buy it." Explained Blackquill, smiling. He surely was happy to see that his samurai side was actually being useful. "Mr. Alexander Baskerville."

"All roads lead to Rome, huh?" said Phoenix "Seems like visiting Mr. Baskerville is our priority now."

"His manor is open to public, it's a place that attracts a lot of tourists eager to watch Holmes' stories come to life." commented a voice that no one was expecting. It was Nahyuta."Oh, sorry for the sudden interrumption, I just asked where I could found you and arrived here. I wish to aid you with your investigation if possible."

"Mr. Sahdmadhi, of course! I had forgotten, sorry!" answered Phoenix, nervous.

"You're not the first one, don't feel bad." Said Athena, clearly still hurt.

"What can you tell us about Baskerville, Mr. Sahdmadhi?" asked Blackquill.

"He's the England Ambassador at Kura'in, that place was his by birthright due to kurainese laws. His family has been ambassadors since almost a century ago, Mr. Alexander himself is pretty new with the honors. Just a month ago his father died and he occupied his place. He's quite unexperienced and surrounded by bad rumors, if it wasn't for Mr. Barrymore, his assistant, he would be in trouble by now."

"Rumors?"

"About him trying to decline his fate. He mentioned something about wanting to leave Kura'in and travel before his father's death. People of Kura'in took it as deshonor and doesn't like him a lot since then."

"Oh man." Phoenix remembered what happened back at the hospital just the night before. The hate towards him was intense and his reaction showed that it bothered him, however, he looked more sad than mad…

"So Mr. Barrymore is the one working now?" asked Trucy.

"Yes, he's very experienced and knows a lot about the business."

"We can have a word of two from Barrymore too." Athena was scribbling notes like mad, she turned to her boss."Then, to Baskerville's Manor!"

"Hold it!" yelled Phoenix, used to the courtroom. "Prosecutor Sadmadhi, would you perhaps know something about this?"

Wright showed him a note, old and yellow. Nahyuta looked at it with curiosity; it contained scribbles of numerous stickmen who appeared to be dancing.

https-:-/-flic.-kr/-p/-25kgLDH (erase the "-")

"Is this…a joke, Mr. Wright?" asked Athena after looking at the note.

"No! I found it at the Sherlock's book that was at Apollo's Office. I thought it was a child's drawing or some scribbles but they look awfully ordenated. I thought it could be important."

"A Sherlock Holmes book?"asked Nahyuta "I didn't think he would like these stories…"

"He had various Holmes' book, but one was special. It's redacted just like a journal. That's where I found the note."

"Perhaps it has to do with one of the stories. You don't know anyone who could know about Sherlock Holmes?"

"I…I think I do." Phoenix dialed a number and waited for the answer. The man he had called answered after a few minutes.

"Miles Edgeworth speaking."

"Edgeworth! You're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, right?"

"Wright?! Why do you ask so suddenly? You bet with Trucy again?"

"No no! It's for a case, I swear!"

"A case? Wright…"

"Are you or not?"

"…"

"Edgeworth! Don't hang please! I'm seriou—"

"I...am, indeed. I read his stories when I was young."

"Why do you doubt?"

"It's not real, it's just a bunch of stories Wright. You can't base a case on books."

"What? No! It's a code! A code I found in a Holmes' book. I believe the key to solve it it's in one of his stories, it's a buch of dancing dolls."

"Dancing dolls? Like stickmen?"

"Yeah! Wait, I was right?"

"A code language was created long ago based on one of the last Holmes' stories published; "The Adventure of the Dancing Men". Even if I can't remember it all I can try and decipher your text."

"R-really?! I will send you a picture! Thank you Edgeworth."

As they waited for Miles' answer, Phoenix started to wonder about Naruhodou's request. He had to find the missing pages that not even the ghost remembered where he put them. If they wasn't found at the carriage remains then the only place Phoenix could think of was Ryuu's clothes, the black uniform in which he had seen him in his dreams was all he was wearing? He needed a photo. Baskerville seemed to know about Naruhodou so maybe Phoenix could do something to make him talk.

"Baker Street, 221 B, London. Naruhodou's Law Offices, attic, front wall. 5-3-9-4." Was Edgeworth's answer. "That's what your note says. It's an adress Wright, Sherlock Holmes lived in there according to the stories."

"Really? You think that something could actually be hidden there?"

"Are you implying that Holmes was real?"

"It's a…possibility. I found an old journal from someone who supossely knew him, the actual Sherlock Holmes."

"What? That's impossible, who is the journal's owner?"

"Can be a nobody, his name is Naruhodou Ryuunosuke."

"Naruhodou!"

"Y-you know him?!"

"I heard about him in one of my travels, he's kinda like a legend from London. They say that that man solved a lot of mysteries around and was known as The Great Ace Attorney, but after his mysterious death nothing more was known. He had no direct family or friends, the people started to think that he was an spy or someone trying to hide his identity, no records with that name were found in England, not even from a badge or something that proved him as a lawyer. He's like…a ghost. A popular story says that his death was an accident caused by the Grim Reaper itself, trying to claim that ghost's soul."

Phoenix gulped, what if…what if nothing of that was real?

"And you believe that?"

"Not a word. If the man actually existed there must be some kind of proof, you say you found a journal, right?"

"Yes, well, actually Apollo was the one who found it. He tried to protect it at all costs from a guy named Baskerville, it's an angular stone of the case I'm working on."

"Hmph…" Edgeworth stayed in silence for a minute "Maybe I can help you. The man's name is japanese, maybe I can find some info at their database. What will you do with the adress you found?"

"Mr. Wright, I believe this can actually be helpful with Apollo's case." Said Nahyuta."So, I would like to go and investigate said location. I believe your team is enough to investigate here and there could be important information at England."

"What's you opinion on this matter, Mr. Sadmadhi?" asked Blackquill.

"Well, Apollo found that journal and then he suddenly got attacked. Later, Baskerville accusses him of robbery even if the weapon used to hurt Apollo is his. He refuses to say which item was stolen from him like if it's some kind of secret. They can be connected, Baskerville can be looking for the journal, he could have attacked Apollo in order to fetch it but it wasn't sucessful so he acussed him."

"But why? The journal doesn't talk about Baskerville or has anything to do." Said Phoenix.

"It's just a rushed conclusion, you have no bases at all." Argued Simon.

"True, but it's a possibility we can't overlook. All we need is to find a motive." Answered Nahyuta.

"A motive?"

"Yes. Why is Baskerville so eager to find his secret stolen item? Why he jumped at the mention of Naruhodou's name back at the hospital? If something connects both Naruhodou and Baskerville is Sherlock Holmes, and the note lead us back to the Great Detective himself. Baskeville is hidding something and chasing this lead can give us an answer."

"That's a good point…if you please could investigate Holmes' place I'll be grateful to you, Mr. Sadmadhi." Requested Phoenix, Nahyuta just nooded.

"Be sure of find the truth awaiting here, Mr. Wright, I'm counting on you."

/

June 22, 10:00 am

Baskerville's Manor.

What Nahyuta had said about Baskerville's manor was true. It looked designed to receive a lot of tourists, even if at the moment it was almost empty, and was a really big place, it looked so out of place i Kura'in since it has an old british look, it looked like a place any vampire would be happy to live in.

The first room they entered was full of weapons displayed like a big collection. Athena and Trucy stared amazed at an old suit of armor, making Phoenix smile.

"Wright-dono." Called Blackquill, pointing at a blank space in the wall. Phoenix got close. "A sword is missing, guess it's name."

Under the empty space, a name could be read. "Karuma"

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" asked a man that had approached Phoenix and Simon. Phoenix looked at him; he was wearing a green vest and white shirt, like an old butler. He recognized him as the same Baskerville's butler that was at the hospital.

"Mr. Barrymore, what are you doing here?" asked Phoenix.

"Well, I work here. This is Baron Baskerville's home after all."

"So, is he here?"

"Not at the moment, he's a pretty busy man. May I ask you what are you doing here so early?"

"That sword, Karuma." Started Simon."You know that it's the weapon that almost killed Mr. Justice?"

"That sword was stolen yesterday. It's very unfortunate that such a magnific piece of art was used to such a crime." No locks. He wasn't lying.

"Stolen?"

"Yesterday at 3 pm there was an electric failure that obligued us to evacuate everyone. When we checked everything the sword had dissapeared and without the cameras on we had no way to know who had stolen it. My sincerest apologies."

("Darn it…") just like that, they had lost their lead. The sword meant nothing if whoever took it was unknown. This case was cursed.

Suddenly, Phoenix received a message in his phone. He checked it immediately, it was from Edgeworth. The email contained a lot of info and photos.

"Naruhodou Ryuunosuke.

Student of Yuumei Highschool, English major.

Traveled to London as a stowaway helped by Kazuma Asougi, exchange law student.

After his arrival to London he studies the English law until his sudden dissapearance and later death.

Cause of death: Unknown.

His information dissapeared for unknown reasons, the British goverment was unable to recover it."

Someone had hidden that information, that was why he turned into a ghost in England. Phoenix knew what had happened to him thanks to both his and Sherlock's journals, but the world never came to know the truth. The report also included a photo. Phoenix felt his heart jump, the young man showed at the photo was identical to the ghost he had seen in his dreams. He wore a black uniform, spiky hair, an arm band with what looked like an attorney's badge sewed into it and a sword at his hip. The ghost didn't have the armband nor the sword, meaning that he had forgotten these details. And if he was wearing them all the time there was a high chance of they containing the missing pages.

"Mr. Blackquill, is it possible for a katana to have a…compartment?" asked Phoenix.

"Well, yes. Some samurai used to carry letters or important documents from their lords, their katana was a safe place to hide them so you could find a katana with its handle hollowed for that purpose."

"Oh my god…" exclaimed Phoenix."I need to look at that katana, quickly! Thank you for the information Mr. Barrymore, we must go now…"

Barrymore flinched but before he could ask anything the investigation team was out of his sight.

Phoenix held Trucy's hand and was followed by Blackquill and Athena.

"Did you find something, Daddy?"

"Yes, we must check that sword right now, as soon as we exit this place we will—" he crashed with the main door. It was opened just a moment ago so he wasn't expecting to hit all his face against it. "What?"

Simon tried to open it but it was like sealed. Not even a hard push could make something.

They looked at each other and suddenly the lights went out. The Manor had almost no windows and thanks to the way it was built it was left in total darkness.

Trucy yelped. Just as Phoenix instinctively hugged her to protect her a new sound reached his ears, just like metal sliding.

And then, a yellow light was visible from a corner, showing what appeared to be a hound's head. Its huge jaws seemed to be dripping with blueish flames and it's eyes ringed with fire, slowly approaching them...

/

Note: The code actually comes from "The Adventure of the Dancing Men", a Sherlock Holmes story, I just wanted to put it somewhere haha. The code I drew says exactly what Edgeworth said it says, if you want to try and solve it or just play with the code you can find it here: https-:-/-flic.-kr/-p/-2fSgd7G (erase the "-")


	10. Hunter Hound

Chapter 10: Hunter Hound

June 22, 10:20 am

Baskerville's Manor.

"Aahhhh!" somebody screamed. Who? It could be anyone of the people present in the scene. Phoenix, Athena, Trucy, even Simon. They were all frost in fear, watching at the demoniac monster standing just a few feets away from them. A Hound, showing all of its teeth and growling like a demon.

A metallic sound ringed in their ears. In their current state no one could say what that sound was, however, it was enough to jolt Simon awake from the shock.

The moment the hound moved closer to them Simon jumped with his sword ready. Metal clashed and suddenly it was all clear.

"It's human! It's a mask!" growled Simon while looking at the beast's eyes. The light that the mask was emitting was enough to see part of the body of the assailant, it was wearing a cape with fur at the neck to add impact to his mask. He was wielding a sword and moved fast. "Run! Get out of here! Now!"

Phoenix blinked, Simon's words had been like a slap for him. He was right, they had to escape, quickly. He took the girls hands and dragged them to the closest source of light he could distinguish among the darkness. If they broke down a window they could easily exit the manor unharmed.

Suddenly, a deep howl filled the manor and made the blood of everyone present go cold. It wasn't a sound that a human could do.

"Arghh!" yelled Blackquill in pain, a growl could be heard and right after it sounded like someone's blade had hit flesh. Then absolute silence.

Trucy yelped as something pulled her cape with force, Phoenix panicked and tried to reach her.

"Not the girls you stupid mutt! The man! The man!" ordered a voice that was clearly modified by some sort of device. Phoenix then felt like someone pushed him to the ground with an amazing force, he couldn't see a thing but soon felt a sharp pain in his arm and the same force pushing it against his face, like trying to reach it with its fangs. Even if he couldn't see it he knew that it was an enormous dog, mad and aggresive. It's hot breath against his face filled Phoenix with terror.

"Mr. Wright!" screamed Athena and, being guided by the sound and encouraging herself, kicked the dog to try and get it away from her boss. The dog yelped and flew a pair of yards before hitting the floor with force where it stayed quiet.

"Taka!" yelled Blackquill, his voice hoarse. The hawk heard its master, screeched and searched for him, it found the window closest to them and tried to enter with all it's energies. Taka managed to break the window and flew against the masked man, distracting him.

"Daddy, daddy! Are you okay?" asked Trucy. Phoenix felt dizzy, his sight started to blurry as he felt his arm completely damped. The window that Taka had broke allowed some light to enter, showing them the path to follow. He knew he had to move but his heart beating desperately in fear kept him in his place, fearing the return of the demoniac dog.

"Mr. Wright! C'mon!" Athena helped him to stand on his feet and started walking to the window. Fast steps followed right after them, quick but strong.

A metallic thing flashed just in front of Athena, almost cutting her nose. The masked man had reached them and was ready to finish, he attacked again but Trucy threw a deck of cards at his face and he gave a pair of steps behind. The light had touched him for a moment, allowing the team to see that he was wearing a green vest, shirt and gloves along with the mask. Taka flew again and managed to grab the mask from the man and pull it off. The man ran to the dark again, hiding among the shadows and calling back his dog.

The light of the sun hit their faces the instant they stepped on the grass outside the manor. They weren't being followed anymore.

"Trucy…Athena, are you okay?" asked Phoenix, trying to calm himself from the terrifying experience they just lived.

"JUST WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT" yelled Athena. She was clearly altered.

"Daddy…your arm, you're bleeding." Said Trucy trying to stay calm. Phoenix looked at his arm; it was a mess of blood and tattered fabric, now that the adrenaline was fading away the pain was becoming unbearable.

"I'm…okay, Truce."

"You're not! You're shaking and your face is pale, sit down while we call for help." Now his own daughter was lecturing him. However, being honest he wasn't feeling so good so he did as she told him.

"Where's Simon?" asked Athena. They looked at the broken window and found him, he was getting closer to them. However, something was wrong, he was stumbling and dragging his sword.

"Wright-dono…" he said, sweating a lot "That…was" he stopped in his tracks "The Hound…" then he fell face down on the grass.

"Simon!" yelled Athena and ran to his aid. His back was all covered in blood, it was coming from a large gash that crossed his back. "Simon! Hold on, please!"

Wright couldn't do other thing than watch, he was too confused and weak to being of any help. However, what Simon said hit hard on his head; "The Hound". The same word that Apollo had muttered just after being attacked.

The image of the terrifying mask and the giant dog that bit him suddenly had a whole different meaning. He came to the realization that they had found their culprit.

They had been atacked by the same one who attacked and almost killed Apollo.

"G-get away!" yelled Phoenix "Who are you?! What do you want from me?!"

It was a dark and foggy place, he wasn't sure where it was or why he was there. The only thing he knew was that he was being chased by a man with the head of a dog and a sword in his hand. He could hear a dog running and growling but he wasn't able to see it. His arm was hurting badly, he didn't want to be wounded again. He just wanted to run.

"Ryuuichi!" someone yelled."Wright-san!"

Just before his eyes the mist seemed to banish. Even if the man that appeared was wearing all black Phoenix could still see him.

"Get a hold on yourself! Ryuuichi!"

It was Naruhodou. He stood between Phoenix and the Hound and lead a hand to his hip. He was now wearing a sword too, it had a long and red band tied to it, it seemed to banish a part of the mist with its fluttering. He drew it and faced the Hound.

The Hound tried to shield himself in the darkness and attack, but for some reason Naruhodou was able to see him and slashed quickly and clean. The Hound growled and fell, then dissapeared.

Phoenix honestly thought that he had died, but then Naruhodou looked at him and his eyes had an aura of sheer determination so strong that it forced him to pay attention. The old ghost still had blood all over his face and torso, but somehow it looked more…lively.

"Get a hold on yourself, Ryuuichi!" he repeated."You're so close to the truth! You can't let it go now!" Ryuu never touched Phoenix, but his voice alone was enough to make him feel like he was being shaken, almost like Apollo's Chords of Steel."You're so close! Just hold on a little longer, you can do it! You can solve both cases!"

He then showed him Karma, the sword he was wielding.

"Karuma, the sword that it's said to banish darkness is the key! You remembered that to me, you brought some light to me! I'm sure you can overcame whatever is put in your way!" he offered his hand "Get up! Get up Ryuuichi! Many have wielded this katana, now is your turn. Now is your turn! Wield it to banish the darkness, wield it to reach, THE TRUTH!"

Phoenix then took his hand and everything got cleared. The last thing he saw were these determined eyes speaking right at his soul, and a confident smile that felt familiar…

June 22, 2:00 pm

Kura'in Hospital.

Phoenix stared at his arm, now all covered in white bandages and kept in its place by a sling. They have given him meds for the pain and now he was really sleepy and numb.

But he couldn't sleep. Not after that weird dream he had on his way to the hospital. Everytime he closed his eyes the demonic face of the dog mask appeared again in his mind, the glowing eyes and the sharp teeth pinning him to the ground. He was rendered useless by fear, he couldn't protect even his daughter.

He started to wonder, Apollo felt the same? He had nightmares as well? Poor boy. Phoenix felt mad, he thought that nobody deserved that, he was now eager to make the culprit pay. The trial in which he had to uncover the whole truth was just a few hours away and he still didn't know who could be the masked man, or even which was the item Baskerville claimed as robbed.

"Mr. Wright?" asked someone at the door, "may I come in?"

Phoenix looked carefully and recognized the girl.

"Oh, of course Ema. What brings you here?"

She entered and sat next to him, offering him some snacks.

"Are you okay?"

"They had to put in some stitches but the doctor said I would be fine."

"Oh, glad to hear that!"

"You know how's Blackquill?"

"Asleep. The doctors said he's out of danger, his wound wasn't that deep, they think he avoided the slash at the last moment and that saved him. He still lost a lot of blood tho."

"He saved us. The assailant wielded a sword too, I can't imagine what could have happened without Blackquill."

"You would be like Apollo…" answered Ema sadly. "He had serious cuts in his arms and was stabbed…you think he tried to fight back?"

"Maybe, but he couldn't. What's strange for me is that a dog also attacked us, but Apollo had no bites or anything of the sort. Are we talking about the same assailant?" he hoped so, at least they have the clue that he attacked at Baskerville's Manor helped by the dark, whoever it was didn't want to give his identity. Suddenly, Phoenix remembered. "Ema! Where's Karma? Where's the sword that stabbed Apollo?"

"In custody. Ms. Von Karma arrived a while ago and is keeping it safe, she plans to recover it."

Well, at least it's safe.

Something scratched the window, startling Ema. It was Taka, he was outside and was helding a rag in its beak. As soon as she recognized the bird she let it in.

"How did Simon manage to bring his pet here?" asked Ema. Taka entered and put the rag next to Phoenix, staring right at him. "What's that Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix took the rag in his hand, flinched and put it down again.

"What's that? Are you okay Mr. Wright?"

" Y-yeah, it's just that…" he was trembling again, he tried to get a hold on himself. "The Hound" Ema examined it and found out that it was a mask with the face of a dog. It was really well done, if it wasn't for the flames coming out from the eyes and mouth you would believe it was a real dog's head. It even had speckles of dried blood "Our assailant used that mask, I don't know how but it glowed, the fire looked real." Phoenix tried to look calm, but the cold sweat told otherwise.

"GET A HOLD ON YOURSELF, RYUUICHI"

He suddenly remembered the voice of the old ghost. It sounded so clear in his mind.

He looked again at the mask, ubderstanding what Ryuunosuke wanted to say. He had to overcome his fear, he had to move, he had to control himself. The truth was closer, he knew where were the lost pages of the journal, he had faced Apollo's assailant face to face. And most importantly; he had the mask.

"Ema, I need you to run a test on this mask. Everything you could. The blood, the fur, god…if there's even a hair inside it I want to know who is its owner, please!"

"Mr. Wright!" Ema fliched but then smiled "It will be my pleasure but please explain why you suddenly look so determined! It's a side effect from your meds?"

Phoenix smiled.

"Someone's counting with me."


	11. Unmasked Truth

June 23, 9:00 am

Defendants Lobby

"I'm here Mr. Wright!" yelled Athena, entering the lobby. Phoenix was sat next to Trucy, conforting her with his good arm while Taka was perched in his shoulder. "Taka!"

"Oh yeah, he refuses to go…" Phoenix's face turned serious "Are you okay, Athena?"

"Oh, yes. It surely scared me but I wasn't attacked. Neither did Trucy, right?"

Trucy shook her head.

"I can remember the Hound yelling "Not the girls!" said Trucy "Why do you think?"

"I have no idea to be honest. I thought it was just a gentleman but then he almost cuts off my nose."

"I'm glad you both were spared any harm, thought I would like to know why the Hound was behind us." Phoenix realized that, in order to discover the motive, they must know the real identity of the Hound in the first place. "Oh, Athena! How's Simon?"

"Mad, reaaally mad." Athena sighed "He insist that it was no fair fight, that it was no defeat for him and that he would like to fight again without the dog pulling his arm down. But I said it nicer."

"I was afraid for him to try seppuku or some samurai thing."

"Oh no no, seppuku is to recover one's honor, he says he didn't lose his since his opponent was a cheater."

"Well, at least he's eager to live. I wish we could have investigated what we truly wanted."

"Actually, Mr. Wright." Athena displayed some things over a table, there was some photos and documents. "While you were in the hospital Ema and me recovered some information. Mr. Baskerville was at the manor all the time, Mr. Barrymore lied to us. Actually, Mr. Baskerville is the main suspect of your attack."

"Wow, great job Athena! Wait…so he's arrested?"

"No, it's very strange. Ema says someone is interceding and prevents him from being arrested."

"He's that powerful? Damn…"

"But the Energy Company received two reports of failures from the Manor; one from yesterday at the time of our attack and one from the day before, at 3:30 pm."

"What? That's half an hour before we found Apollo, can't be a coincidence."

"True, but Apollo was found at his office, not the Manor. And we don't know if he went there in first place. What we know for sure is that who attacked us yesterday was the one that attacked Apollo as well." Athena pulled out the Hound's mask, bagged and labeled as evidence."It has traces of Simon and Apollo's blood. Ema couldn't find any traces that could lead us to the Hound's identity but we know that this mask is actually part of Mr. Baskerville's collection, it was disposed like a museum piece in one of the rooms. Here, we got a photo of the exhibition."

Phoenix looked at it and it indeed showed the mask, displayed at a wall like a trophy, it was meant to represent the head of the Baskerville's Hound that appeared at Holmes' book. However, there was another thing that caught his attention; a black and small journal, identical to Naruhodou's.

"What the…" he was now sure that it was the same one "What could this mean?"

"What, Mr. Wright?"

"The black book displayed, we have it in our evidence. It actually is part of the mistery of Naruhodou Ryuunosuke and what I believe to be a truth hidden beneath our own case, but…why do we have it?" Phoenix had a bad feeling.

"How did you get it?"

"Apollo gave it to us…"

"Oh…oh no no no" Athena understood what that meant for them. Trucy looked at her confused.

"What am I losing? What's wrong?" Trucy asked.

"If the item Baskerville is claiming Apollo stole it's the journal then we're in serious trouble." Answered her father, she gasped.

"B-but, you don't think he actually stole it, right?"

He doesn't? Now he was doubting too. But he knew Apollo wasn't like that, he would never even skip a red light. There had to be another explanation.

"Athena, I have a favor to ask from you."

"Whatever you say Boss!"

"You will be defending today."

"Say whaaat!" she yelled "but why boss?!"

"I'm not in my best shape. I can't even point in my objection pose right now."

"And that's your reason?" she was sweating.

"They gave me a lot of pain meds, I'm this close to start seeing pink elephants, I will still be with you at the bench but please, be the lead defense today." He put his good hand at Athena's shoulder and smiled to her."I know you can do it! You have showed it to me. And Apollo trusts you too, you won't let him down! I can assure it!"

Athena wiped some tears from her eyes and smiled with determination.

"Thank you Boss, let's show this Baskerville guy just who we are!"

"How dare you Phoenix Wright?!" a whip lashed just next to him."You were supposed to face me today! Not this girl!"

"I have a name! Ouch!" claimed Athena.

"I was attacked just yesterday Ms. Von Karma, I'm afraid I'm unable to fulfill your request, but I can assure you that she's the most capable attorney around here. She's up to anything."

"Hmm…" Franziska crossed her arms. "I shall judge that. Maybe crushing both your apprentices will land a blow on you too." Franziska smiled.

"Order in this court!" said the judge "I'm the one judging here Ms. Von Karma, now please, if we can get this started." Kura'in's Judge sure wasn't used to Franziska's style. But she just ignored that fact.

"As you wish your Magistry. Two days ago, someone entered the Baskerville Manor and stole two items from the exhibition. The first was a sword; a katana called Karuma. The second a black and small notebook, it's old but an important part of the collection. Mr. Alexander Baskerville accuses Mr. Apollo Justice of stealing the items and the prosecution is ready to prove said charges."

"W-wait!" Athena blabbered "Mr. Wright!"

"I-I heard that." Phoenix had his nightmare confirmed; The stolen item was the journal. However, what he wasn't expecting was that Karma was also claimed as stolen even if it almost killed Apollo. Baskerville knew it and still.

"Objection!" yelled Athena, hitting the desk. "The katana was already found and was used to injure the defendant himself! How can you claim that he stole it? Agh—" the whip hit her hand.

"How foolish…clearly as fool as your foolish mentor over there." Franziska claimed. "How do you know that he didn't hurt himself by accident while stealing it? He being hurt isn't an alibi and the fact that the sword was found with him won't change. Besides, the prosecution has proofs that point to him as the thief."

"What kind of proof?"

"A witness, he saw the instant Mr. Justice exited the Manor with the stolen items in his hands!"

The gallery gasped and started murmuring a lot. Apollo was well known and a beloved citizen at Kura'in so a lot of people was present. Phoenix could see them starting to doubt.

The situation was bad.

"What do we do Mr. Wright?" murmured Athena.

"Let's hear what this witness says, we can't assure that he will say the truth and we can uncover the actual facts from him. Also…" he felt the journal stored at his inner pocket. "We absolutely have to find the way to check that katana by ourselves and there's no way that Franziska will give it to us if we don't prove that it's important for this case. But in order to do that we need the journal, which we absolutely can't present or we will be finished. We have to wait for the right moment."

The witness entered the room, it was a woman, dressed very casually and looking so out of place among the Kurainese people. It was clear that she was a tourist.

"State your name and occupation, witness"

"Ellen Ettary, I'm a Sherlockian!"

"A what?" asked Franziska.

"Elementary, Ms. Prosecutor! A sherlockian, I live and breath for Sherlock Holmes! I'm an expert in the books, movies and everything that has to do with Mr. Holmes! Just ask away!"

"Geez, why can't we have a normal witness for once?" mumbled Athena. Phoenix sighed.

"What were you doing at Baskerville's grounds when the crime ocurred?" asked Phoenix.

"You have no chill at all…" she was a young woman, dressed in a long coat and glasses "I was visiting the mansion! I finally could afford to travel here and visit it on my own, any sherlockian dreams about visiting it! I mean, the Barkerville himself lives there man! "

"Let's cut all this useless chat already. Witness, testify for me." Franziska wipped her desk. "Testify about what you saw at the Baskerville Manor!"

"Oh man, I feel like Dr. Watson writting Holmes' adventures for the world!" she was clearly excited. "I saw the defendant, Apollo Justice, walking out of the mansion. He seemed in a hurry since he jumped the wall and dissapeared. He had the katana in his hand! I swear it!"

The courtroom was filled with whispers and voices, Franziska smirked.

"There's no doubt, your Magistry! The defendant himself was seen at the scene and the katana was found at his possession. It's cristal clear!"

"Hold it!" screamed Athena "I'm not going anywhere until I cross-examine this witness!"

"Proceed then, Ms. Cykes." Conceded the judge. Franziska flinched.

"W-what? Just like that your Magistry?" she complained.

"It's Mr Justice we are talking about, an important member of our judicial system. This testimony was really short, I can't afford to make a decision just now."

Franziska was clearly mad, but didn't say anything. Honestly, Phoenix wanted to laugh, it was the first time he witnessed a completely powerless Franziska. However, he knew what it feels and prefered to stay quiet.

"How did you know it was the defendant?" asked Athena."Do you know him?"

"You're underestimating me Ms. Lawyer!" the witness looked really confident "Don't forget that I'm a sherlockian! I learned all about deduction from my master, Sherlock Holmes!" she pulled out a tiny notebook and started to read. "It's clearly a man, the way he walks is that from an agressive man, he's wearing a vest and shirt. All kurainese people wears strange clothes, all except one person; Apollo Justice, the attorney. Ergo, it could only be Mr. Justice." She finished with a smile, clearly happy of being able to show her abilities.

Athena was pale.

"A-a vest" a mental image of Apollo with his red ves flashed on her mind. The girl was right, Apollo was the only one she had seen in that kind of clothes. She looked at Phoenix but he appeared to be deep in thought.

"I know his suit is red, but everyone that meets Apollo notices his hair first, those horns of his are unmissable. But she did not mention it." Murmured Phoenix, looking at her.

"Ms. Ettary, why did you put so much attention on his clothes? What about his face?"

"His face?" the girl lifted a brow "It was clearly him from what I saw, he also moved really fast!"

"I'm starting to think that you actually didn't see his face, Ms. Ettary…" said Phoenix "Can you describe the defendant for me?"

"I uh..." she was losing her confidence little by little, Athena noticed it and recovered her.

"What are you hiding?"

"Nothing! I swear! I-I just have some trouble remembering..."

"What? Are you saying that right now? Then your testimony isn't reliable!"

"You fool witness! You dared to play around with this court" Franziska exploded, her whip hitting the witness' stand.

"No no! Let me explain!" the witness was a tough one, she didn't look intimidated at all, on the contrary, she was ready to refute them all. "I won't ever lie! Sherlock would never! You see, the sight wasn't as clear as I wanted. Even if it was alredy afternoon the Baskerville Manor is full with trees and buildings that make it a little dark, they usually have the lights on but just minutes before there was a shortcut and everything was dark, still, some light could pass between the trees. I saw the defendant as he was running, I could clearly see his vest and the katana, but his face..." she gulped "I saw it, I really did, but I wish I didn't"

"What? Why?" asked Athena.

"I could have seen wrong due to the darkness, but I could swear that it wasn't human, I couldn'? believe it!"

"Wasn't...human?" mumbled Phoenix, a shiver ran down his spine.

"Preposterous!" yelled Franziska and whipped Phoenix.

"Yowch! Why me?! I'm hurt you know?!"

"What's the point of this question foolish attorneys? If the witness can assure that it was the defendant, what does the details matter?"

"It does matter Ms. Von Karma!" claimed Athena and crossed her arms, smiling from ear to ear. "Because we believe in her!"

"You...what?!" Franziska hit her desk "Then you're foolish than I thought!"

Athena then pulled out the Hound mask from the evidence and showed it to the witness. "Does this ring any bells?"

"AHH!" the girl yelled, pointing at the mask "Yes! His face was like that!"

"Polkunka! What in heavens is that?!" asked the judge "You ought to explain why you have that in your possession, defense!"

"That's the mask of the Hound of the Baskervilles!" exclaimed the witness. "It's unique in the world, property of Sir Baskerville. I couldn't believe that I was seeing it with my own two eyes!"

"W-what? So what surprised you wasn't that he had the head of a dog but that it was a special mask instead?" Phoenix was done.

"We recovered this at the mansion after our attack, a hawk pulled it out from our assailant." explained Athena.

"So, the defendant was wearing it to prevent being recognized. What difference does it make?" argued Franziska.

"That's impossible Ms. Von Karma." Phoenix was talking this time "You heard our witness, this mask is one in a kind. If this one was used by the defendant it couldn't have reached us yesterday, or are you implying that Mr. Justice came back just to attack us?"

"Ugh!" Franziska flinched "It could be a copy!"

"No, it couldn't. Ms. Skye analized this for us and found traces of both Mr. Justice and Mr. Blackquill, who was with us yesterday. Plus, if the defendant had taken this mask, wouldn't Mr. Baskerville also claim it as stolen?"

"That...what if it never left the manor? What if the defendant dropped it before leaving and then it was returned until somebody else used it?" Franziska suddenly recovered, she had found a flaw on Phoenix argument.

("Damn it! So close!") thought Phoenix. He was feeling dizzy, all that info had surpased him in his current state, he looked at Athena.

"As I said, the mask isn't relevant at all! It doesn't matter if his face was clear or not, that red vest of him gives him away, that's cristal clear!"

"I'm afraid that I must agree with the prosecution, if the witness is so sure then there's no room for doubt. Now I may be able to--"

"Wait!" someone yelled "Hold it! Objection! Stop!" it was the witness, she was waving her left hand while holding her journal in the other hand. "What did you say about his vest?"

"That red vest of him gives him away" don't make me repeat it" said Von Karma, confident on her victory.

"The vest I saw wasn't red!"

"W-whaaat?!" everyone yelled this time.

"It was green! He was wearing a green vest, I saw it clearly!"

"Apollo only wears red! He owns no other color!" exclaimed Trucy from the gallery.

"Indeed, the defendant does not wear green clothes. All citizens of Kura'in can testify to that. It couldn't be the defendant if the vest she saw was green!" claimed Athena, pointing to Franziska.

"Nonsense!" Franziska couldn't believe it. "It couldn't have been anyone else, no one wears vests at Kura'in!"

"Unless, it wasn't a Kurainese..." mumbled Athena. She looked at the witness who also wore normal clothes, all the foreigners seemed to drees different. Could it be a simple tourist? No.

THE MASK WASN'T CLAIMED AS STOLEN

The mask, the mask was the key. If it's unique then it could only be at one place at once and used by only one person. It had the blood of Apollo and Simon on it son the assailant was the same, and if he could take the mask freely from it's exhibition without stealing it it could only mean...

"The owner of the mask took it!" Athena claimed "It wasn't claimed as stolen because they knew exactly where it was and how to take it. Also, witness, you noticed how everyone at the manor was dressed? You met Mr. Baskerville himself?"

"I did!" the girl looked at her journal again, her eyes going awe."Oh my god! Mr. Baskerville was greeting the guests at the door, he was wearing a green suit of three pieces. Elementary my dear attorney! Mr. Baskerville was wearing a green vest!"


	12. The Great Messenger

Chapter 12: The Great Messenger

The court was forced to take a recess. After the discussion about the color of the vest, the judge decided to call Mr. Alexander Baskerville to the witness stand. It was Athena and Phoenix's last chance to uncover the whole truth.

"Well, we now know that the Hound mask wasn't reported as stolen because it was used the day after and it could only have been taken by its owner, Mr. Baskerville..." summarized Athena.

"But, do you really think it was Mr. Baskerville?" asked Trucy "I...sincerely can't believe it"

"What...why Trucy?"

"When we visited Polly at the hospital he was there, he looked really concerned and he also let us take Polly to another hospital."

"He also visited Apollo in his office the morning of the day of the attack, if he wanted to do something then, why waiting? I can't understand either..." commented Phoenix. "We also still have to check that katana before it gets out of our reach."

"You really think that's important? It's a century old item, what can it do for us?" asked Athena.

"It's actually very important, Ms. Cykes." Nahyuta entered the room, he looked like he stayed up all night. "There's a high posibility that it, along with the journal, it's connected to your case."

"Mr. Sadmadhi! You're back. You found something?" Phoenix got up so fast that his head spinned.

"Yes. There was a hidden compartment at Mr. Holmes' house, not even the English goverment knew about that. Actually, we have to return this as soon as our case is over." Nahyuta showed him a new notebook, pink and really beautiful; a leather bag and a letter. "You have heard of Susato Mikotoba?"

"Susato…" Phoenix held the notebook carefully, he couldn't help but to feel that she once was someone very loved, he had felt how much Naruhodou loved her by reading his journal and meeting him in his dreams. He sat on the coach again to check it, it was filled with a lot of notes on japanese and just a few of them in english.

"I read them but I couldn't finish, it's her journal. She talks mostly of her everyday until Naruhodou's death, she wrote a little about that to soothe her grief and then it all turns into notes and detailed records from her findings, the entire Naruhodo Case is written there. Until the day she received this letter." Nahyuta opened the letter for Phoenix, who read it immediately.

"HOLY S—" He stopped, seeing Trucy. It was the letter she once received from Baskerville where he confessed everything and asked for her silence. It was just the piece of evidence Phoenix needed. "This letter! Prosecutor Sadmadhi!"

"Sorry to dissapoint you, Mr. Wright, but it's false." Nahyuta hung his head. "It's Susato's handwritting, she wrote it herself"

"W-what?" Phoenix couldn't believe it "Susato…forget evidence?"

"I wouldn't blame her, this case destroyed her life. Anyone would be capable of that under that circunstance…"

Phoenix looked at the letter, now seeing that even the paper was one of her own journal pages. A evidence so obviously forged wasn't likely from her, a cautious enough woman to have kept all that evidence so well hidden. There had to be a reason.

Thinking about the secret compartment at the well known Shelock's flat he checked the journal very carefully again, a task rather hard thanks to his injured arm.

"Daddy, you should know better than to read a women's diary."

"It's evidence! I wouldn't do it if it was otherwise."

"You clearly wouldn't, you're even holding it upside down"

"U-Upside down?" he repeated and then closed it, the cover looked good for him until he flipped it and saw the back cover, clearly reversed. Looking closely, the cover was thicker than the front one and looked double. He tried to separate them with his nail and heard something click. It was indeed a secret compartment, like a folder of sorts. In the inside were a few photos and a note.

"Whoever found this note must be capable enough to solve this case, you must have come a long way investigating until you found this journal so I will now allow you to use all the information I was able to gather in a lifetime, along with The Great Detective. I beg you, put this case to rest, for Naruhodou.

The letter is only a reproduction of the original, which was burned before my own eyes. I, Mikotoba Susato, aka Susan Wright, swear that there existed a letter identical in content to this copy. Mr. Sherlock Holmes guided me to this truth, I won't let his efforts go to waste.

Susato Mikotoba." Read the note.

"This…it's exactly the piece we were lacking for our case." Mumbled Athena, Trucy and Phoenix looked at her with curiosity."The reason why Apollo was attacked, also why we were trapped inside the mansion by the Hound and why Baskerville wants to retrieve that journal so desperately. All settles down with this letter." She looked at Phoenix in his eyes.

"The first Baskerville to be a Kurainese ambassador was Sir Henry Baskerville, since then every Baskerville has the birthright to that position. If anyone proves that it was obtained spilling Stappleton and Naruhodou's blood, our Baskerville would lose it." Sumarized Nahyuta. "Apollo had Naruhodou's journal so he was attacked in order to retrieve it."

"By Baskerville himself…" Phoenix said, pale as heck.

"But wait wait, that would mean that Baskerville also was the one who attacked us. Remember, the hound mask has both Apollo and Blackquill's blood. But, why us? He doesn't know that we have the journal."

"W-what?...that's true…" mumbled Phoenix."What's worse, the journal doesn't contain any concrete evidence, unless…that's what it's written in the missing pages."

"But i's useless if they are lost Boss!"

"They aren't lost anymore, I'm sure they're hidden in the katana, Karma! I just know it!" Phoenix started to get excited, he moved his injured arm and a jolt of pain ran though him. But even that wasn't enough to calm him down.

"So that's why you wanted to check it! I understand now!" Athena also looked happy."So we only need to show this evidence to make it all clear!"

"Hold it Ms. Cykes. It's not that easy." Reassured Nahyuta. "In order to do that, we must present Naruhodou's journal. And that would be the same as admitting that Apollo stole it."

"Darn it!"

"But Apollo is no thief, I just know it!" said Trucy. "There must be another explanation."

"I feel the same Truce. And I feel that this trial will be our last chance to know the whole truth." He looked at Athena "we must be cautious. This trial is to determine if Apollo it's a thief or not so the moment we present that journal it will be all over. We must use what we have for now; Susato and Sherlock's journals and our evidence for this case."

"Defense! The trial is about to resume." Announced the bailiff. Phoenix nodded.

"Let's go."

Just before standing up he clumsily wrote a message in his phone:

"From: Phoenix

To: Edgeworth

Can I ask you for a favor?

Can you use your prosecutor powers to investigate my family tree? Specifically if there's a Susan Wright around there.

I feel like I will need it for my case."

Lllllllllllllllll

Back into the trial everyone was at their position.

Franziska crossed her arms, she looked angry but not enough to make you want to run for your life.

But who had all the eyes over him was Baskerville. He looked tired but still he was shaven and his hair combed, he was dreesed with a green suit and an obvious green vest.

"Can we please finish this quickly? This isn't a good day." He sounded as tired as he looked, as if he wasn't able to sleep last night.

"Our witness said that she saw a man exiting the manor with the stolen sword on hand, he was wearing a mask and a green vest. One exactly like yours!" yelled Athena, pointing at him.

However, to everyone's surprise, Baskerville didn't even flinch.

"Are you seriously accusing me of stealing my own things? Ridiculous!"

"Ms. Ettary wrote everything she saw and there's no doubt about your vest."

"Oh, so you have been deceived by a vest. Sorry to dissapoint you, my lady, but everyone at the Manor wears green vests. Me, my butler, our employees. It's our uniform."

"W-what?!" yelled Phoenix.

"So, if the only clue you have is that the thief was wearing a green vest I'm afraid that it could be anyone. Even your client, obtaining a uniform is easy since we keep a lot of spare ones, he could have stolen one too." Baskerville was sharp, he was one to handle with care. Athena looked at him, sweating."Now, if the defense has no further questions I may retire, I have things to do."

"Hold it!" yelled Phoenix."Testify! Testify about the journal you claim as stolen, why is that so important?"

"Objection!" claimed Franziska."Why the journal is important is irrelevant, he has no need to answer that."

"Aww c'mon Ms. Von Karma…" moaned Athena.

"Then tell me why you're accusing my client, in what are you basing said accusation?"

"Huh? Are you sure? This trial is to declare him a thief, I will gladly help the prosecution to achieve her victory."

"If you're so sure about that you should stop blabbering and explain." Franziska hit her desk with her whip, looking at the witness like a lion."Testify about your reasons to accuse Mr. Justice"

"It's pretty simple, actually. Mr. Justice had shown interest on the journal since a day before. He sent me an email inviting me to his office to discuss about the journal. I went to his place as planned and he asked me to sell the journal to him, I refused since it's an important part of my heritage, it has a lot of personal value and has passed down to every Baskerville. Later, the journal disappeared and Mr. Justice was the only one who had visited the Manor so early."

It was a hard testimony to work with, it was very concrete and everything so far made sense; Ahl'ibi also said that Baskerville visited Apollo, Apollo himself was said to be seen at the Manor and what was worse, he had the journal. But Phoenix couldn't afford to doubt Apollo, he knew him, he had seen him throwing to jail his own mentor, accussing Athena, dethorning a queen, all in the sake of truth.

There wasn't anyone with a will as strong as Apollo's in that courtroom.

With that in mind, Phoenix held himself together. If Apollo was no thief it wouldn't matter what he do, what Baskerville do, the truth would always come to light and prove what he believed.

There was no turning back.

"Mr. Baskerville, are you sure about what you just said?" asked Phoenix, Athena looked at him in awe.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because Mr. Justice had no need of buying said journal. He already had it even befoere you met him!"

"W-what?!" Franziska smashed the desk."Are you delirious? Phoenix Wright?"

"You wish, Ms. Von Karma. Here I have my own client's journal!" Phoenix pulled it out from his jacket, having a bad feeling in the bottom of his heart. He remembered Apollo telling him to not give it to the police, trying to protect it with the last of his strenght. "He had went to England not so long ago to retrieve some things from his biological father, Jove Justice. There's an entry of June 15, I will read it:

"June 15.

Among the things I found a little book that seems to be a journal. But it's not my father's, it looks very old.

I started to read it to see why my father would have such a personal item from somebody else, according to the first pages my "somebody else's" name is Ryuunosuke Naruhodou. He's the true owner of this book. "

And if our maths are correct June 15 it's 6 days before your journal was stolen."

"That's impossible! That journal was still within my posession then and there's no way thay it could be at England!"

"Objection!" yelled Franziska, flashing her whip dangerously close to Phoenix. He flinched and looked at her."Why just now I'm aware of this evidence? It can be forged as far as I know!"

"As his lawyers we are capable of keeping his documents safe, this is a very personal belonging. This was the last thing we wanted to do." Argued Athena, saving Phoenix.

"And how do you know that he didn't write that as an alibi?" Franziska waved her finger, smirking. She wasn't changed at all, that or she was being carried away by the feeling of a close victory."Think about it, if we take his word as the truth then we would exclude him from this case and that would allow him to steal the journal freely. Also, that journal wasn't found at the crime scene so we have no way of knowing if that's just a trap or the real thing."

"Apollo would never forge evidence!"

"The prosecution has a point. Defense, I cannot accept that evidence in my court."

"Noo…" lamented Athena, but Phoenix smiled slightly.

"It's okay, don't count this as evidence. However, I think we have brought a new posibility; the existence of two Naruhodou's journals!"

"That's your meds talking Phoenix Wright! We just said that we can't trust anything written there!"

"Objection!" that yell surprised everyone. It was from Trucy, who had been surprisingly quiet until then even if she was at the bench too. She had Susato's journal in her hands and waved it, excited."I have proof! Proof that there exists two journals!"

"W-what?" asked Franziska, but also Phoenix and Athena.

"I read the entire Naruhodou case! There existed two journals in order to deceive the old courtroom, one stayed in Moriarty's posession, the other was hidden by Susato Mikotoba. Polly says the truth but also Mr. Baskerville."

"Naruhodou case? Susato Mikotoba? What on earth are you talking about?" complained the judge. Baskerville was suddenly very pale and just then Phoenix had a hunch, this was the chance he was waiting for, finally.

"The Naruhodou case, your honor, it's an old case that lies within the roots of this one. The journal that Mr. Baskerville claims as stolen belonged to Ryuunosuke Naruhodou, a japanese defense lawyer that lived in England a century ago. He was murdered because he knew something, a truth that had remained hidden until now." Phoenix explained.

"And what has to do a century old murder with our case? This is ridiculous!" complained Franziska.

"No, it all takes us there. The truth is, the journal is thought to contain a secret so dark that it killed Naruhodou and almost Mr. Justice too. A secret that Mikotoba discovered and wrote in this letter." Phoenix then read Susato's letter, the one where she rewrote the letter from her Baskerville and explained that his ambassador position wasn't obtained by fair means. Nobody in the courtroom could give credit to what they heard, they just looked at each other in disbelief.

"Mr. Wright, you're throwing serious accusations against Mr. Baskerville. If his place wasn't fairly obtained, even after so many years, it would mean that he has no right to be an ambassador and he would lose his place." said the judge, Phoenix nodded.

"Exactly, your Magistry. And that's why he attacked Apollo Justice as well, if he knew about the journal then it would compromise his position. He's trying to retrieve it at all costs, I need you to look at this:" he took again Apollo's journal and opened it where his last notes were, the paper splattered with blood. The gallery gasped and Baskerville had his eyes wide open."This was the last thing Mr. Justice wrote on this journal, you can say doubt the previous note could be false, but you can't deny this one. Test the blood and it will match his, even the handwritting as shaky as it is."

"JOURNAL. HOUND. KARMA. RYUUNOSUKE. SHERLOCK. BASKERVILLE" read the judge "Just what does that mean?"

"He was attacked by the Hound, or the mask of the Hound if you what the things clear. The same Hound Mask we're talking about in this case."

"This Hound Mask!" Athena showed it. "This was delivered to us earlier by Detective Skye and it has Apollo's blood, it was the one used to attack him and also us, there's no mistake!"

"Hold it!" the scream was strong, full of rage. It could be expected to come from the prosecution for all the evidence she wasn't aware of, but no, it was a loud and manly voice. It was Baskerville. "Hold on defense, I sincerely underestimated you. The Kurainese were right, all this time I thought they were exaggerating but no. Lawyers are truly monsters!" he hit the stand with both his fists."You're trying to pin the blame on me even when I'm the victim here! This trial is to determine wether Mr. Justice is a thief, not to find out who attacked him, nor to discover who killed Naruhodou Ryuunosuke. Two journals? I only care about one, about mine! A letter from a woman we don't even know that claims my ancestor killed her husband? The Hound Mask? Sherlock Holmes for heaven's sake…are you even aware of all you're saying?"

"M-Mr Baskerville!" the judge looked surprised.

"Prosecution, you're missing a vital point here, I was told you were good."

"What? Don't you dare to speak of me like that, witness! I'm well aware of what you want to say you fool!" yelled Von Karma, whipping her desk."I was just waiting to see if Phoenix Wright would just surrender his own client willingly or I had to do it myself. It looks loke it's the second one." She crossed her arms with confidence.

"What are you talking about?" Phoenix had a bad feeling.

"You just admitted that Mr. Justice has the journal. You first said about the first note and implied there were two journals, meaning that you already know one and it's contents. Later you just proved it with evidence with the second note. As you assure that he was attacked by The Hound we can also assure that he knew about the journal, about Ryuunosuke and about the sword, Karma. Nobody had said a word about the sword until now but it's clearly written in there, that could have been his last words for all we know so he had no reason to lie."

"Shit!" Phoenix would have said it out loud if it wasn't for his body, it was completely frozen. Franziska was right.

"So, you have the journal with you as well, Phoenix Wright?" Franziska looked at him right in the eyes and then he knew he had no escape. He was trembling, nervous and dizzy.

"I…" he slowly took the black journal from his inner pocket, ready to what could be the end.

"DON'T LOSE HOPE RYUUICHI! THE MOMENT YOU DO WILL BE ALL REALLY OVER, KEEP GOING FORWARD"

Phoenix flinched. It was clearly his voice, Naruhodou's voice, but this time he wasn't asleep or unconcious, yet he could heard it as clear as his own voice. It felt like he snapped out of it, like if he had an idea. He looked at the journals at the bench; one pink and one red. He felt Ryuu's journal in his grasp, but he also feel the other one that was still in his bag, the journal that nobody knew existed. And then, he had an idea.

He pulled out Naruhodou's journal and showed it to the court. Franziska was smiling.

"Yes, I indeed have a journal. But not the one you're looking for." Phoenix said.

"It's no time for your bluffs Phoenix Wright."

"This is no bluff Ms. Von Karma, as I said earlier, Mr. Justice got this one in England and isn't Baskerville's"

"And can you prove it?"

"No, I can't. However, I can prove that there are two journals!" he looked to Trucy and she understood to look among Susato's notes to find what she had found.

"There's no use!" claimed Baskerville.

"Oh, Mr. Baskerville, I also noticed something in your testimony. Something that proves you know something about the Naruhodou Case and why you want to hide it." This time Athena talked, she had been affected by Phoenix's confidence and looked relaxed. "We never said that Ms. Susato Mikotoba was Naruhodou's wife."

"Agh!" Baskerville yelped, genuinely surprised. And Phoenix couldn't be prouder of Athena.

"Susato Mikotoba was indeed Naruhodou's fiancé, not his wife since he died before they could marry. But they had a son so Mikotoba never married. Ergo, that's some information that he couldn't have know by knowing only Naruhodou's journal, he had to know from somewhere else." Trucy presented the note where Susato assured that there were two journals why Phoenix showed the court Sherlock's book. "Ms. Mikotoba said that the information she obtained was thanks to Sherlock Holmes. Well, I have here his notebook, the notebook that contains the same information Susato found, the notebook that confirms the existence of two journals."

"That's impossible!" yelled Franziska "Sherlock Holmes isn't real! I thought you were less foolish than this but then you prove the opposite."

"And what if he was?"

The gallery couldn't stop murmuring.

"Order! Order!" claimed the judge "Mr. Wright, are you seriously implying that Holmes existed? THE Sherlock Holmes?! Can you prove it?"

"I can!"

"WHAT!" Franziska couldn't believe it.

That's right, they were at Kura'in, the country where the dead had voice. He couldn't bring Ryuunosuke to testify, the poor ghost barely reminded his own name. Susato's testimony would be put to doubt if her clues came from Holmes. He only had to prove the existence of one person in order to connect everything and unveil the truth.

"I call Sherlock Holmes to the stand!"


	13. The Great Reminiscence

Chapter 13: The Great Reminiscence

"Sherlock Holmes?!" yelled Baskerville. "You have completely lost your mind now Mr. Wright!"

"Phoenix Wright!" Franziska also looked angry "How dare you to play around with this court? Holmes is a fictional character! He only exists in his books."

"No, Ms. Von Karma, he was a real person, I'm sure of it!"

"Show me the evidence then!"

"We can channel him, in this country they listen to dead people. You can call Queen Amara and channel him, vio she's not allowed to do it I can bring my own medium! You know her, it's Maya Fey."

"Ms. Fey? Nonsense! Talk to dead people you say? That's foolish!"

"Prosecution, to talk against our tradition is to disrespect our country. This is your first warning, next time you will have to exit this courtroom." Said the Judge, looking at her with an accussing gaze.

"W-what?!" her face was full of pure disbelief, but she contained it enough to stay in the courtroom.

"We can indeed channel him here, our kingdom is in debt with you, Mr. Wright, so we can make the preparations for this. Bailiff! Call our Queen!" ordered the judge. Phoenix would pay to take a photo of Franziska in that moment, that moment in which she realized that he had more power and was important now. "However Mr. Wright, I'm not quite convinced of this myself. Sherlock Holmes? Are you aware that in order to channel someone you need a photo? He's a book character!"

"He's not Your Magistry! I'm pretty convinced. And I have just what we need!" right then Trucy put on her father's hand a document she obtained from Susato's journal, he smiled and showed it to the court, it looked like they were in synch. "This photo shows Mr. Holmes! He's with Ms. Mikotoba, Mr. Naruhodou and a young girl I don't know about."

"Polkunkha! And from where exactly does that come from?"

"We found it at Baker Street, former house of Sherlock Holmes, along with Mikotoba's journal, the letter I read a while ago and some old evidence. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi was the one to retrieve it so he can testify that this is indeed real."

"How on earth did you find it? I thought that that place had been completely combed by the government." Asked Franziska this time.

"It had its secrets. I've been investigating everything related to the Naruhodou case since I knew about the journal and I came across this."

"Why? Why are you so interested in Naruhodou? You only had to proof your client's innocence, why bothering in investigating a century old case?" asked Baskerville.

"I believe it's important to know the full truth behind this, Mr. Baskerville. And I think you know why."

Baskerville looked at him right in the eye.

"Boss…" murmured Athena "he's having a lot of discord in his heart, you hit the nail."

"All stand up to greet Queen Amara! Queen of the Kingdom of Kura'in." Announced the bailiff. Everyone did as requested, Phoenix noticed that Rayfa also came.

"Barbed Head!" she exclaimed."Long time no see!"

"Princess Rayfa, I'm glad you're well!"

"What happened to you? Where's Horn Head?"

"That's hard to answer but, I'm actually defending Apollo right now."

"W-what?! You required a channeling…he-he killed someone?"

"Oh no no, we need someone to testify, that's all!"

"And who will it be?" Queen Amara asked, smiling to Phoenix as a salute.

"Your Highness, thank you so much for this. His name is Sherlock Holmes."

"Holmes? The Baskerville's Hound Holmes?" asked Rayfa, impressed."He actually existed?"

"Yes, that one." he showed the photo to the Queen, who examined it carefully.

"Let's proceed then."

Phoenix's heart beat faster in excitement as he saw Queen Amara doing the pose that he had seen so many times in his more desperate moments. He remembered clearly the image of young Maya, channeling Mia for him. Phoenix smiled with that thought in mind, thinking seriously on visiting Maya after the case is over.

"W-wha? What's this?" Phoenix was awakened from his thoughts by a strong, raspy voice. The man now standing at the Queen's place was looking all around the place, clearly disoriented. "Where am I?"

The gallery gasped, it was unbelievable. The defense team froze for a moment, realizing that the face of the man was exactly the one from the photos, just more…tired looking.

"Phoenix Wright! How on earth is this real?! I must be dreaming!" yelled Franziska, who couldn't give credit to what she was seing.

"Objection!" Phoenix pointed at her with his good arm."This is as real as you and me!"

"W-what?" the man looked at Phoenix with his eyes wide open."Mr. Nar…no no, you couldn't be, my eyes are playing tricks on me. I thought you were someone else, sorry."

"Mr. Naruhodou." When Phoenix mentioned that name, the man's eyes shined. "Naruhodou Ryuunosuke."

"Y-yes! You! How do you know that name?! Who are you?"

"The name's Phoenix Wright, defense lawyer. You're at the Kingdom of Kura'in, a few years after your time. We need your help."

"Wright…" the man laughed dryly.

"Are you Sherlock Holmes? The Great Detective?" asked the judge.

The man's eyes were instantly filled with tears, he grabbed his head with his two hands.

"She did it…Ms. Susato is truly amazing…and I-I'm…the Great Detective…again." The tears were dropping for real.

"This man is insane, what if he's just a fanatic?" argued Franziska "A fan so obsessed with Holmes books that he created all of this to be recognized as a hero."

"It makes no sense, why would anyone do that?" asked Trucy.

"Then why the government knew nothing about that journals? Or Susato Mikotoba, Naruhodou Ryuunosuke or this supposed Sherlock Holmes?"

Oh no. Franziska seemed too eager to discredit their witness but the man itself was too busy crying, why was he crying anyway?

"Naruhodou Ryuunosuke was a real person, here I have a report sent by the Chief Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth. In it he gives all the details possible: Mr. Naruhodou was an english student, born in Japan. He was studying the English law until his dissapearance, he was declared dead after years of no reporting back."

"Dissapearance?" the man at the stand suddenly reacted."They say that he just…dissapeared? You have no records of his trials at all?"

"According to Edgeworth he's kinda like a legend from London. He was known as The Great Ace Attorney, but after his mysterious death nothing more was known. He had no direct family or friends, the people thinks that he was a spy or someone trying to hide his identity, no records with his name were found in England, not even from a badge or something that proved him as a lawyer. He's like a ghost. A popular story says that his death was an accident caused by the Grim Reaper itself, trying to claim that ghost's soul."

The man had his mouth wide open.

"That…can't be…what about Susato Mikotoba?"

"There was no info about her, sir."

"Y-you called me The Great Detective! Does my name ring any bells for you?"

"A vast number of books carry the name of Sherlock Holmes, but these are just tales." Explained Franziska and suddenly the man smashed the stand.

"I knew this would happen!" he looked really mad."These stories were real, I am Sherlock Holmes! I have no way to prove that to you now, but please, listen to me." He looked at Phoenix, like if he was looking for something "I don't care what you think about me, I really don't. But Naruhodou Ryuunosuke was a good man, the greatest I knew. He doesn't deserve to be remembered as a ghost, he was much more than that."

("Remembered as a ghost…" Can that be the reason why his spirit lost his memories? Nobody remembers him as he was? Sherlock seems just fine, everyone knows him from the books and if they were real as he says then that would explain it…) Phoenix was deep in thought, trying to find a way to prove that Holmes was indeed the real one.

"He was…part of my family. Along with Susato Mikotoba and Iris Watson. His death was a mistery we could never solve, even if I found the culprit there was no way to prove it. There was no apparent motive."

"W-what? No apparent motive?" Athena paled, all their argument was based on the fact that Baskerville was somehow the culprit of Naruhodou's death to hide something. That would make Baskerville to have a reason to attack Apollo and start everything.

"Mr. Holmes." Said Phoenix, rubbing his chin."I know what happened in that case, Naruhodou's case. It looked like an accident, his carriage crashed, however, his journal dissapeared from the scene so you deduced that it was a murder. You managed to recover said journal from the culprit, Dr. Moriarty, and you threw yourself along with him at the falls to stop him from chasing Susato. I read a report of her notes I received from my ally. Susato wrote everything down."

"Then what happened? Why was she lost as well? I mean, you have her journal. I suppose that since you know all this you also know that I changed her name to hide her."

"Yes, Susan Wright. But, I'm so sorry Mr. Holmes. Moriarty's allies found her and blackmailed her for the rest of her life. If I got it right, she decided to live for her son instead of risking her life for the truth." Sherlock hung his head, hiding his eyes. "But she managed to copy the blackmail letter, to hide her journal and to leave a note enssuring that whoever looked into the case should be able to find it all. I reunited all the evidence: Naruhodou, Susato and your journals, the bag that once belonged to Naruhodou and some letters, notes and photos."

"You still lack one thing, Mr. Wright." Said Sherlock, impressed. "There was two Naruhodou's journals. One forget and the real one." The Judge was listening carefully, Franziska crossed her arms."If everything went according to our plan, Susato must have recovered the original and the other was delivered to Mr. Henry Baskerville. But…if you say that she was found out then that could mean that Baskerville obtained the two and probably destroyed them once he was sure. I can't explain how you still have one within your posession, how did Susato manage to hide the real one? Which one do you have?"

"Can you say which it's the real one by reading it?"

"Yes, the contents changed in order to use it as evidence against me. If you read the last page I should be able to tell."

"Hold it!" someone screamed at the gallery, then stood up. It was Baskerville's butler, Mr Barrymore."You are not allowed to read that journal in this court!"

"Mr. Barrymore?! What are you doing here?"

"Escorting my master, of course, and preventing this kind of things from happening!" he usually looked calm, but this time he seemed altered."Read the first page, lawyer, but only the first page!"

Phoenix opened the journal at said page.

"This journal is property of Naruhodou Ryuunosuke.

Only those from my family are allowed to read this as well. I'm sure that my sons will laugh someday reading my misadventures."

"W-what?!"

"That, my dear lawyer, it's as valid as a testament. Just because you carry the same last name as his wife it doesn't mean that you're his descendant. Last names get lost and mix as the time passes, you know who is the true descendant? My master! That's why he's the guardian of that journal, the same one your client stole! You keep on playing around with this court but you have proven nothing, it's him the true Holmes? He's the only one aside from you that assures that there exists two journals but we insist that there's only one!"

Now, being so close to the truth, the defense is forced to take a step back again. Barrymore was right, he had no way to prove that he was Ryuunosuke's descendant and that would leave the journal useless. But he still had a bit of hope.

"I will prove once and for all that Mr. Holmes here it's the true one! The same one Susato and Ryuunosuke talk about, and also the same we saw at the books!"

"Way to go Mr. Wright! C'mon! Ask away" Sherlock encouraged, but Phoenix nodded.

"You already said all we wanted to know. Mr Holmes, this will be all your doing."

"W-what?"

"Holmes is known for his great deductions, if you're able to make one then there will be no reason to doubt you."

"Anyone can make deductions, Phoenix Wright, even foolish you." Said Franziska.

"This is a deduction only he can make, he's the only one who was alive at that time, I'm sure he can do it."

"It will be my pleasure, then." Sherlock bowed."What do you want me to investigate, exactly?"

"There's a person in this courtroom that I'm sure you will be able to recognize. All I can tell you it's that the family features are still clear on their face, even if a century has passed."

"Hmm…you're quite the interesting man, Phoenix Wright. I will do as you wish, everyone must watch one of my Great Deductions, even if it's just once in a lifetime. Can you lend me a coat, perhaps?"

"A…coat? Bailiff, give this man what he wants" ordered the Judge.

Once he had his coat on, Sherlock started walking around the courtroom, examining each one's faces very carefully.

"Your clothes, very elegant, they remind me of my times." He commented to Franziska, she smiled.

"Elegance and fashion never gets old."

Phoenix remembered Manfred Von Karma and his vampiric look, he wondered if Holmes would also think that it was nice or if it was too old even for him.

Step by step, his eyes were like scanners, carefully trained in the art of observation after years of being a consultive detective. He came across Barrymore.

"Wright said that your name was Barrymore, I remember that name. The old butlers of Henry Baskerville were also named like that, they were good people, they served Mr. Naruhodou some tea before his death, that much I remember. But your face has changed a lot, I'm sure the last name it's the only thing left from then. However…" he stopped "What are you doing here? This doesn't look like a place of butlers, everything looks so…mytical. You look out of place." His eyes enlightened, he had an idea."The Barrymore swore loyalty upon one family, the Baskervilles!"

Sherlock turned in his heels, looking all around him.

"You said "Master", it's a man. You escorted him, right? You say he's a descendant of Mr. Narohodou? So…the features I'm looking for, are these from him? God…" he opened his eyes, but stopped suddenly."No…it isn't Mr. Naruhodou I should look for. It's you!" he pointed at someone. "You! You are a Baskerville, there's no doubt! It truly runs in your blood!"

The man he had pointed at was no one else but Alexander Baskerville, the one who had accused Apollo. The man jumped from his seat.

"H-how?! Lawyer!" he pointed at Phoenix "How on earth did you know how my family looked? Is this a trick?" He yelled, angry.

"No, Mr. Baskerville. We paid a visit at your manor yesterday, you have there a colection of family portraits. Your family genes are really strong."

"Ack!"

"So, he knew Mr. Henry Baskerville back then! The same one that was the first English Ambassador at Kura'in!" concluded the Judge. "This man has been dead for a century so he had no way of seeing the portraits at the manor. This court aknowledges that the spirit present here it's indeed Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" he hit with his gavel. Franziska stayed silent, observing. Everyone at the defense sighed in relief.

"Baskerville, after all this time, you really look like him. Like the one we once trusted until…he killed Mr. Naruhodou." Sherlock hung his head.

"Mr. Holmes, according to Susato's notes, Baskerville wasn't the direct culprit of Naruhodou's murder. It was Moriarty alone, Henry Baskerville confessed." Explained Trucy, who was still checking Susato's things along with Athena.

"W-what? Are you sure? I could swear that Baskerville had some to do with it, Mr. Naruhodou had discovered something, something that neither me or Susato could find but Moriarty did. Moriarty was working along Baskerville."

"He confessed that Moriarty acted on his own after said discovery, but Baskerville still planned everything. He killed his own friend to inherit his place as ambassador, even if his friend was aware, Baskerville also had another intention. He wanted to involve Naruhodou in the case to make you react and stop Moriarty, who was blackmailing Baskerville. However, whatever Ryuu discovered made Moriarty to go mad and kill him."

Sherlock was listening closely but at the same time his fists were closing in anger. He closed his eyes.

"Everything was…my fault. If I had acted sooner, if I wasn't too focused in my own happiness…Mr. Naruhodou wouldn't have been killed, he could have seen his family grow up, h-he could…" he started crying again, but this time his tears showed sorrow. Athena covered her ears, his pain was so strong it made an awful sound for her, who also had her eyes wet.

"Mr. Holmes…" Phoenix spoke, Sherlock looked at him. "Naruhodou would never blame you, he was just looking for the truth until the bitter end. He even discovered a truth no one else was able to reach in a hundred years. Still, you were important to him too, his family was the most important thing for him at the end, sane as you."

"How could you know? That happened a century ago…you have no way to know him."

Phoenix gave him a warm smile, Sherlock flinched, he had seen that same smile so many times before. Phoenix had met him in a way, but he didn't need to say that.

"When he had the accident, I heard that he had a span of time before dying, you wrote that in your notes. A span of time in which he could have explained what he had discovered, the truth he had unveiled. If he had said so everything could have been solved at that time, simple. But he didn't do that." Sherlock was trembling, already thinking about the answer. "You know, right?"

"He…used that time for…" he remembered the scene, the moment Susato touched him he opened his eyes and smiled to her, he spoke to her knowing it was his last chance. The tears stopped him from talking.

"He prefered to say goodbye, Mr. Holmes."


	14. The Great Turnabout

Chapter 14: The Great Turnabout.

Holmes fell on his knees, sobbing, but as the bailiff ran close to help, he stopped him with a hand signal. He tried to wipe his tears.

"Thank you…Mr. Wright. Thank you so much." He stood up, crying but with his heart beating strong again. The memory of Ryuunosuke shining on his mind, he finally remembered again why he considered that man a part of his family. He needed to finish this at last, he needed to return the favor and put Naruhodou's soul to rest. It was time. "You asked for my help, and I shall do everything within my reach to do so."

"Thanks, Mr. Holmes. But your presence alone was all I needed. You and your testimony have confirmed that all the information contained in these journals it's true, that there exists two Naruhodou's journals and that Mr. Baskerville has a strong reason to attack my client in order to retrieve one of them! My client has no motive to steal, and he never took the journal they claim as stolen! Their true intention is to retrieve the journal that they don't possess!"

"Hold it!" yelled Baskerville."I didn't attack your client! I insist that you're just trying to pin this on me! I will confess!" he ran to the witness stand, almost pushing Sherlock aside. "We were trying to retrieve Mr. Justice's journal, that's true! However, I, by no means, recurred to violence. I went to his office that same morning to try and buy it but he refused, we argued since he proposed to buy mine too. Neither of our intentions came to fruition and I left the place." He straightened himself. "Besides, I do not look for the journals for hiding anything, I couldn't care less if I'm the ambassador or not, this title was put upon my shoulders even if it wasn't what I wanted. I want to complete my collection, that's all! That journals are of no use for me! Even you should know that the journals alone contain no significant information, just chit chattering from a man in love. The important pages that supposely contain the shocking truth you talk about are missing, they vanished into thin air ages ago. And without that you can't confirm that any of the theories contained into your evidence it's true. Naruhodou could have died at a mere accident, Moriarty could have been a mere invention of my mad ancestor, the letter that Susato wrote is forged. If there's no proof that shows that Naruhodou discovered something that led him to death then you're grasping at straws. Stop pursuing this, I will retire the charges against Apollo Justice if you just stop at this moment. Think, your client is almost dead, the people care more about him than they will ever care about me, I'm tired of being the villain of your game, please. Let's forget this, everyone will do the same in less than a year, anyway."

Dropping the case? At this point?

Even if what Baskerville said it's true, they just couldn't do it, not being so close to solve the mystery for the old ghost. Apollo would be safe but, for how long? If Baskerville was as dangerous as to nearly kill Apollo, they couldn't let him go spotless.

"Mr. Wright, I looked around for these pages and I could never find them, I'm truly sorry…" lamented Holmes.

"It isn't a problem, Mr. Holmes. I can't accept your terms, Mr. Baskerville, I need to do this for someone else's sake too, not just my client."

"Then I encourage you to travel back in time and retrieve the proof, because you have no other way to keep going with this."

Phoenix smiled and put his good arm on his hip.

"That should be no problem at all, for I do know where these missing pages are."

"W-WHAAT" Baskerville couldn't believe it. Everyone turned to Phoenix, especially Sherlock.

"Y-you do? That's impossible!" Sherlock couldn't contain his excitement. "Mr. Wright! Please, tell me! Don't make me wait any longer!"

"Ms. Von Karma"

"Are you going to leave us all just waiting? Or is this just another one of your bluffs?" countered Franziska.

"Oh no no, actually, in this very moment you and I are here for the same reason. I know you're prosecuting this case in order to recover the old sword that belongs to your family, the katana Karma. It ended up being evidence for this case, right?"

"The katana? What do you have in mind, Phoenix Wright?"

"Can you please lend it to me a minute?"

"Are you seriously implying that the evidence you need right now it's that sword, are your meds kicking in again?" However, she took the sword and walked in his direction, she also showed interest in the old mystery.

"The sword, THE SWORD MR. WRIGHT! ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT-" Sherlock was yelling, moving towards the defense bench, he had both his hands at his head in disbelief.

Franziska put the sword at the bench, contained within an old leather case that had the same red band he had seen in his dreams. His heart was jumping in excitement as well as in fear, it was the same weapon that had almost taken Apollo's life. His hand was trembling when he, at last, touched the hilt. Trucy held the case for him as he drew the sword out one-handed.

"It... still has some blood..." murmured Athena, gulping at the gruesome sight. But Phoenix wasn't looking at the blade, he examined the hilt closely and put the sword at the bench again.

"Athena, help me with this. The end of the handle can be removed, try to open it."

"WHAAAT." yelped Sherlock.

However, when Athena tried to open it, it didn't move even an inch, it was united firmly with the handle, all in one piece. Phoenix felt his soul falling to the ground.

"No...no! the sword was all he had on! They have to be in there, there's no other place!" he was starting to panic.

"Mr. Wright! You're right! I checked the place of the accident over and over again, I checked his clothes and all but I never checked this sword as carefully as the rest of the evidence. When Gina Lestrade found him, it was because she tripped with this sword, it was really far from Mr. Naruhodou and he had never took it off from his side before, there has to be a reason why it wasn't attached to his hip as always. You hit the nail! We just need to find out where a small sheet of paper could be hidden in there!" said Sherlock, examining the sword like his life depended on it. "I just know it! It HAS to be here!"

Phoenix had renewed the hope in Sherlock's heart, a man that had given up to the point of killing himself. He thought that he had no reason or time to doubt in himself now. The Ryuunosuke he had met in his dreams also remembered hiding the pages within the sword, he never told him exactly where, but it couldn't be that hard.

Phoenix remembered the ghost, so stoic with the sword held in his hand and a soft wind making his hair and the red band flutter, yelling him to get a hold of himself. Only then, realization hit him like a train.

The red band.

He took the case and put all his efforts into untangling the strong knot that kept the band attached, his hand clumsy and nervous, but he made it.

"Mr. Holmes..." he muttered, getting the man's attention. He carefully unrolled the band out of the case, finding out that it was folded in half at some point. When Holmes unfolded it, he screamed.

"THE PAGES! MR. NARUHODOU FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

Phoenix couldn't help but laugh, almost cry to be honest. The pages were folded in a hurry so they were very misshapen, but they were there, at last.

"This band once belonged to Mr. Naruhodou's best friend, Asougi Kazuma. I would have never thought that he could be so smart to deceive me, Moriarty and a hundred more. He was...truly amazing..." Sherlock was on the verge of tears again, but then, as he unfolded the paper, a scream broke the emotion.

"HOLD IT" it was Barrymore, he looked like an angry cat, all fuzzed over and his face was as red as a tomato. "Have you already forgotten? You have no right to read that journal, nor even these free pages! You must deliver them immediately to Mr. Henry Baskerville! Or else I will make the police arrests you all!"

"No... not again..." cried Athena. Phoenix couldn't give credit to it.

("This can't be happening...not when we are so close!") Phoenix thought, but even before he could argue something, Franziska spoke.

"This foolish man has all the right to read that journal." she said, making Barrymore's eyes to go wide. "While you were into your sentimental talk, I received an email from my fool little brother."

"Edgeworth?!"

"He first told me that you didn't answer your phone, and then he explained what you had asked him to investigate. I will take my laugh later at him for being this fool's lap dog but right now what matters is that you were right, Phoenix Wright." She smiled. "Susan Wright is part of your family tree, she only had one son named Ryuuichi Wright, who is also your ancestor. Phoenix Wright, you're a descendant of Naruhodou Ryunnosuke!"

The gallery gasped, even the Judge was really impressed. But in that room, there wasn't anyone as surprised as Phoenix himself, and it wasn't precisely for his blood, it was about Franziska. The Franziska he once knew would have hidden that information in order to win the case, but this time she gladly gave it off in sake of the truth. He had noticed that she had interest in solving Naruhodou's case since she gave him her precious sword, it could be that or it could be that the Franziska he once knew had changed.

He smiled; it didn't matter right now.

"Thank you, Ms. Von Karma."

"Are you going to make me wait another century? Read it already!" she answered, being Franziska again.

Sherlock gave Phoenix the unfolded pages, wearing a smile from ear to ear.

"I knew it..." Holmes murmured. Phoenix cleared his throat and read out loud:

"September 16.

I took Baskerville-san's case by Holmes-san request. He says that his friend isn't capable of committing the murder since the victim was his best friend, Mr. Stapleton.

I haven't meet Barkerville-san yet, but we visited his house and the crime scene. There, a strange man appeared and said that we should drop the case, that Baskerville would be ok with an estate attorney and that there was no reason to get ourselves mixed, unless we wanted to get cursed.

The man said that his name was Dr. James Moriarty, I haven't heard that name before but he seemed like a decent man.

After that, Susato seemed worried so we came back home but stopped at a restaurant to drink some tea.

Right now, I'm writing this on my way to Baskerville Mansion. I need to check on something that has been bugging me since we left.

September 16.

This case is much more than it meets the eye.

I came back to Baskerville's mansion to investigate the library, the only room that was yet to be investigated, and found some astonishing evidence.

There was a complete set for tea; one teapot and two cups. Along with a receipt of a drug store that proves that Mr. Baskerville purchased the poison.

I honestly can't believe it, I really can't. I have a lot of doubts regarding this receipt, why it wasn't consumed by the fire? I understand that the tea set didn't burn, but the receipt? It's mere paper, it HAD to burn.

What if Mr. Baskerville wanted me to find this receipt? Why else he didn't destroy it at all?

Thinking about back then, when Susato and me were about to enter the library a strange man stopped us, a man named James Moriarty. I can't put into words the feeling he gave me, it's like uneasiness but stronger. His eyes seemed smart but...hollow. I asked the Barrymores about him and they have heard of him just once, from Baskerville's mouth. He's a very nervous man that often suffers from nightmares, the Barrymores know him very well and they say that he usually dreams about the Hound, but one night he repeated over and over again the name of "Moriarty". That man has to be quite the menace if he overcame Baskerville-san's fear of the Hound, the legend that ruined his life.

Our encounter was no coincidence, he warned us of this case and kept us away from the library. He didn't want me to find what I found and I know why. When we met him, he was wearing a badge on his shirt, he tried to hide it but I saw it when he bowed to greet us. The shape of said badge was an arrow, and I found that same arrow at the bottom of the teapot. Maybe Barkerville stole it, maybe it was a gift, but if Moriarty tried to hide it then he didn't want it to be known. His implication in this case is obvious, I need to investigate further.

As for Baskerville-san, if he left this evidence at plain sight he must be desperate, I want to talk about this with him as soon as I can and, if it's in me, help him. But if he was the culprit of Mr. Stapleton's murder, I can't look the other way around.

I'm tired. I haven't even found the right moment to propose to Susato, it has to be perfect…my heart races every time I think about it. I think I will do it at the dinner, I'm ready."

Then, Phoenix flipped to the next sheet and felt a shiver ran down his spine. The message looked like if it was written on an unstable place, it was clear that it had been written in a hurry, even the ink was all over the page. Still, the shaky letters made sense.

"MORIARTY WILL KILL ME."

The courtroom fell silent, not everyone understood the real meaning behind these words, but those who did didn't dare to say a single word.

Sherlock took the old leather bag with the evidence from that case and looked for the teapot pieces, finding the one with the arrow that Ryuu mentioned. He put a hand on his head and the other at the bench, looking for support.

"Mr. Naruhodou..."he murmured.

"Can you explain exactly what does this mean, Mr. Holmes?" asked the Judge. Sherlock nodded.

"The case Naruhodou was investigating was the murder of Mr. Jack Stapleton, best friend of my time's Baskerville, Henry. I think you know better that situation, Mr. Wright."

"As we read earlier, Henry was being blackmailed by Dr. James Moriarty, who controlled his life. In order to escape from him, Stapleton gave up his life but it was also an attempt to call for Mr. Holmes' help." Completed Phoenix.

"But Mr. Naruhodou…he was smarter than Moriarty expected. I had been chasing Moriarty since I started my career but he never left a clue behind, not even once. Mr. Naruhodou managed to not only obtain evidence of the crime but to proof that Moriarty was behind it; he had seen his badge, the man himself and the teapot, which was obviously Moriarty's. Even the teapot alone was enough to prove that Moriarty money was dirty: the salary of a teacher could never buy a teapot like this one. The teapot, Mr. Naruhodou's testimony along with his skill to convince the jury, even Baskerville's testimony were enough to finally accuse Moriarty, to bring him down…but, Moriarty was probably following Naruhodou and he provoked the accident that killed him, then he stole his journal but never found the missing pages that still accused him. I'm afraid that this doesn't help much anymore."

"You're wrong, Mr. Holmes." Assured Athena." This proves that all the information we have is real. All the journals were written by real people, all of them are their testimonies and are as valid as a testament, as Mr. Barrymore said. We now know that Baskerville's position as an ambassador was obtained with blood! Even if Naruhodou's death wasn't entirely his fault, Henry Baskerville still committed a murder!"

"I'm afraid that what the defense says it's true, we have all the proof necessary to strip him of his position. We are a country of tradition, and if the first Baskerville did such things, we can't allow one that carries his blood to continue with this. I'm sorry, Mr. Alexander Baskerville." Said the Judge, however, Baskerville wasn't mad. He wasn't even tense, he looked…resigned. Totally opposite to Barrymore, who was really close to start spitting foam like a rabid dog.

"Being Baskerville's position at risk with this information he needed to retrieve it at all costs! He said it earlier, right? He has the other journal, he said that Mr. Justice tried to buy it but then they argued and the sell never occurred. My client, Apollo Justice, never had a reason to stole the other journal!" argued Phoenix, concluding everything. " But still, Mr. Justice ended up gravely injured after someone attacked him with a sword and a mask that was supposedly at Baskerville's Manor and only he could obtain it."

Trucy checked Apollo's journal again, reading his last entry.

"JOURNAL. HOUND. KARMA. RYUUNOSUKE. SHERLOCK. BASKERVILLE"

"All this time, he tried to point at his assailant! The JOURNAL was the reason; the HOUND was who attacked him, with the mask on; KARMA was the weapon; RYUUNOSUKE and SHERLOCK were those who we had to look up and the journals he possessed. Lastly, the person he accused of being his assailant, BASKERVILLE!" Phoenix felt triumphant, he had connected every single clue to this point, the century old mystery was now solved and Apollo's case was crystal clear now. He had found his culprit.

"N-NO, STOP!" Baskerville screamed, smashing the stand with both his fists. His previous calm look was now lost, he looked really nervous and was shaking. "Mr. Wright please! Stop! I didn't do that, I didn't attack Mr. Justice, I swear it! I…I…"

"How much time will he try to deny it?" asked Trucy. "Daddy? Are you okay?"

Phoenix had paled, it looked like if he had seen a ghost. He glared at Athena who also had a look of doubt in her face, she was touching Widget, meaning that she was hearing discord from Baskerville.

Phoenix had seen a lot of culprits over his years as a lawyer. All of them seemed to experience a breakdown when their lies had been exposed, some showed no regrets, others were resigned, angry or even sad. But Mr. Baskerville were none of that, he was scared, so scared that it obligued Phoenix to stop and think seriously.

"Mr. Baskerville." Wright held the magatama in his hand, ready. "Did you attack Apollo Justice?"

"No, no! I didn't! Please believe me!"

Phoenix's heart skipped a beat. Not even one psyche-lock appeared…


	15. The Great Deduction

Chapter 15: The Great Deduction

It was unbelievable. All clues lead to Baskerville, everything fit so well, but he wasn't lying. He truly didn't attack Apollo.

Something was wrong, really wrong.

"You have that look, Mr. Wright." Phoenix looked at Sherlock, who had his arms crossed and looked at him with determination on his eyes."You have the same shining eyes as Mr. Naruhodou. The look of a man eager to find the truth. You believe in Mr. Baskerville's words, what's stopping you from keep going? The game is afoot, Mr Wright!"

That was what Phoenix needed to wake up.

"So, Mr. Justice was proven to be innocent of the charges put onto him. Mr. Alexander Baskerville will face a new trial tomorrow for the charge of Attempted Murder, we already have the evidence so it shouldn't take long." Summarized the Judge, but just before he could seal his words with the sound of his gavel, a strong scream broke the tension.

"Objection!" it was Phoenix."This isn't over yet! I need the witness to testify again!"

"But…Mr. Wright! Your client its free of suspiction now, why do you want more testimony? About what?"

"It's simple, your Magistry. All the people present today it's here because they want to know the truth behind Mr. Justice's attack, they don't want the culprit to go unpunished."

"Then we should start another trial in the next days. You only need to accuse Mr. Baskerville, you already proved his crime."

"That's the thing, your Magistry." A strong feeling of nerves of nerves hit his chest, Phoenix swallowed and continued. "I don't think that Mr. Baskerville is our culprit. This can be our only chance to find the truth."

"W-what?! Mr. Wright! Are you feeling all right?"

"Y-you…do you really believe me?" there was hope and relief in Baskerville's voice. Phoenix looked at his team: Athena, Trucy and Sherlock; they all nodded, approving his decisión.

"Please, Your Magistry! Let this trial continue!"

"W-well…does the Prosecution agree?"

"I do. I lost already, let this man have his fun." Answered Franziska, bowing. Phoenix was amazed but also scared, was this really Franziska?

"Let's proceed then. About what do you want the witness to testify?"

"About my client, Apollo Justice."

"What about him, Mr. Wright?" asked Baskerville.

"How did you know that he had Ryuunosuke's journal? Nobody but him knew about it and I don't think he told you just like that."

"Uhhh…that…" he looked nervous, his eyes looking everywhere for Mr. Barrymore, who had passed out. Suddenly, his composture changed. "Actually, I know him, I think of him as a friend."

"W-what? Apollo has friends?" said Athena.

"I…can't believe you at all, Mr. Baskerville. You acussed him of thievery, you almost let him die at the hospital, and yet you claim that you are friends?"

"Miles Edgeworth acussed you of murdering your own boss and almost put you on the death row, Phoenix Wright." Commented Franziska, smirking.

Touché.

"It wasn't my decisión, I shall explain everything that happened. A month ago I received a letter from England for Mr. Justice, it was a request for him to go and retrieve his father's belongings. I had worked on a case with him before, he helped me to obtain a license for owning a weapon. It's a very hard to obtain document so when he was able to obtain it I was truly impressed, we kept in touch since then and when I received that letter I delivered it to him personally. He told me that I should go see him once he returned from England to see what was his inheritance. I did so and visited Mr. Justice at his office in the morning of the day of the incident, he was organizing all the papers that were all over his office so I helped him for a while. Then he told me about the journal and I instantly recognized it, I tried to buy it from him but when he asked why I wanted it I couldn't answer him, I remember that he touched his bracelet and absolutely refused to sell it. We argued and then I left his office. At my manor I wanted to ask Barrymore about that new journal but when I was telling him about it I got a call and he exited the room. I was really busy the rest of the afternoon so I didn't know what happened after. Barrymore arrived later, saying that my journal had been stolen by Mr. Justice but that he had an accident and was currently at the hospital. I was mad, I wasn't thinking straight after I thought that he had betrayed my trust and I signed the papers for his trial that Barrymore had prepared. Then you arrived at the hospital and I was rude at you, I had no idea of who you were and I only wanted to wake up from that nightmare."

"But you were there for another reason, right?" asked Athena as she saw Widget's proyection. She was trying to clean the discord in Baskerville's heart. "You were feeling angry at that moment, but you also felt pain and sadness."

"I-I wanted to see him, I really did. I wanted to see with my own eyes because I couldn't believe that he was a thief. I…I admire him a lot."

"You…admire Polly?"

"Barrymore always said that Kura'in respected my family, that our place as ambassadors carried a lot of meaning and was very important. But it isn't in that way, ever since I was a kid nobody threated me like normal, to them I was some weird guy whose father was powerful. And as I grew up I realized that not only the children behaved like that, it was everyone around me and I hated to live like that. I always wanted to be like them, to be free, to travel around the world. But then my father died and I took his place sooner than expected." Baskerville looked more relaxed, it was like he had been holding all those feelings for so long. Athena smiled as his heart calmed as well. "But then I met Mr. Justice, he treated me just like everyone else. I mean, I heard that he dethroned Queen Ga'ran so maybe a simple ambassador was nothing to him, but that wasn't what surprised me. It's the way the people threats him, he's like a hero to them, like somebody they can always count with. Everyone greets him, wishes him a good morning and even give him food and yet he doesn't feel powerful, he just smiles. He's everything I want to be, I wanted to learn how to be like that…"

Phoenix felt really proud of Apollo, to hear that he was so loved and respected just make him feel incredibly happy. He remembered that young red lawyer, always screaming but with his heart burning with passion for his work all the time. He had seen him at his worst moments, those in which not even him was capable to help. But now, he was sure that this was his best time, he was getting all the love and appreciation he deserved. He wished him to recover soon with all his heart.

"To someone to hurt Mr. Justice…I can't really think of anyone. When I visited him again at the hospital I realized how wrong my actions were, how much damage I had done as well. When I saw all that people supporting him I remembered what I truly wanted to ask him, what I wanted him to teach me. I couldn't retire the charges or Barrymore would be really mad, but I tried to help, I was the one who called Ms. Von Karma to tell her about the sword but it was all I could do without Barrymore's permission. I never thought I would end up being accussed as well…"

"Barrymore. He looks important to you."

"He basically manages my life. He knows and plans everything I do, he has served my family almost his entire life. But he has been acting weird, he hid so much info from me from this case. He just told me that the stolen item was the journal and sword."

"Mr. Baskerville, your motive sounds like just emotional foolish talk for me…how do you explain the mask and sword then? Only you can access to them." Argued Franziska.

"I…I can't. I can swear that I have the only key to the mask's place, the sword could have been stolen but you need the key to even touch the mask. You may think I had a reason to attack Mr. Justice, but Mr. Wright? He was attacked with the same mask, I have no reason, and an alibi! I was talking to England's man in charge of the correspondence. He can confirm it."

"That's true, we never knew why they attacked us." Athena looked like she was deep in thought."It could be to stop us from defending Apollo."

"What's more, the attack was different. When we were attacked there was also a dog and it was at the inside of the Baskerville mansion. Apollo had no bites and was attacked at his office." Said Phoenix.

"Then we're not dealing with a serial murderer that plans everything, Mr. Wright." Sherlock spoke, looking at nowhere while thinking."Their movements aren't concrete, something must have triggered the attacks. In Mr. Justice's case it was him bringing back the journal, can you think of something that caused them to attavk you? What where you doing when you were attacked?"

"We were investigating our case, we paid a visit to Baskerville's mansion but exited soon. Mr. Blackquill and me discovered that…Karma…" Phoenix fliched, as the pain reminded him of his injuries he remembered the moment before the attack. He and Simon looking at the empty place of Karma, talking about katanas and how they could hide small things within it's hilt. That was it, that triggered the attack, they had discovered where the legendary lost pages were. But as he put more thinking into it, the truth of who had attacked them became clear, after all, there was just one more person in that room. "Barrymore…"

"You discovered Barrymore?" asked the judge. Phoenix touched his arm unconsciosly.

"We discovered where were the lost pages of Naruhodo's journal. He heard us, he was the only person in that room!"

"B-Barrymore?! Are you serious?" babbled Baskerville.

"Can he access to the mask, Mr. Baskerville?" asked Athena.

"Yes…yes he can but just why? Why he would do that?"

"He may think that he acts in your name."

"N-no, he never does that. He's very loyal and calm!"

"But it's the only one who could have taken the mask, he also knew about the journal and was the only one in that room at tha--

"OBJECTION!" suddenly, Barrymore himself ran to the witness stand, red like a tomato again. "Thank god I awakened just now! To think that you're now acussing me, you have no heart, lawyer!"

"Mr. Barrymore, it's a good thing that you're back. What do you have to say to the defense's acussation?" asked the Judge.

"They are wrong! Really wrong! I was indeed at that room when this man was there, but I didn't attack anyone! I'm not the only one who could have heard your conversation, we have cameras, the one watching them could also hear that!"

"And how do you explain the mask?"

"It was stolen a day before, you also said it."

"Why you didn't report it?"

"I was too busy, you have no idea of how much work I have!"

"Mr. Baskerville said that you disappeared the day it was stolen, also Ms. Ettary witnessed the thief, sword and mask in hand."

"That was your client! You just proved that his vest was red and that he had no apparent motive, but nothing else! He still had the sword, how do you explain that?!"

"Will this guy destroy all our theories just like that?" moaned Athena.

"Do not desperate young lawyer, we still have a chance." Sherlock, who just a minute before was really quiet, suddenly looked excited and his face had a great smile. Trucy was at his side, holding a map. "We won't obtain other thing from your attack other than we know that it was the same assailant and mask but there was a dog. We must focus on Mr. Justice's attack, this young lady had the courtesy of sharing all yor evidence and notes with me, now I'm able to deduce what exactly happened there."

"Mr. Holmes, please shut your mouth. You have no interest in this case, old ghost." Barrymore clearly ws mad, but Sherlock just smiled.

"That's were you're wrong. I'm looking for nothibg but the truth, and I will have it…" he started to walk around the courtroom, Trucy following him. She showed the mmap of Apollo's office to the court."So, Mr. Wright, young lawyer, young magician…are you ready for this Great Deduction?"

"Just start already you fool." Franziska was losing her patience.

"Ms. Von Karma! I will need your help as well! Can you please tell me why Mr. Justice was the main suspect of the robbery?"

"He sword and journal were found at his possession, also, he was said to vist Baskerville Manor before the incident."

"That's right, now we have to think the opposite, Mr. Wright. If he didn't steal the sword, how did it reach him? Who took it from its place? The only ones who could have taken the mask without robbing it were Mr. Baskerville and Mr. Barrymore."

"But none of us ever stepped on that office! I heard it from the officers, the paper in the floor captured the prints." Argued Barrymore.

"But, that could be altered. Baskerville was at that office the same morning, why didn't they find them?"

"Because Mr. Baskerville put in order some of the sheets, he said it himself." Answered Athena.

"So, we have the prints of only the people who entered after."

"But they were only Apollo's, and he was attacked from the front." said Trucy.

"Exactly, we have to find out just how the assailant managed to hide their prints. Maybe they attacked Mr. Justice outside the office?"

"Nonsense! Acording to your map, the boy was found at his desk, he had to be attacked there." Barrymore was looking at the map very closely.

"Are you implying that our assailant was floating? This isn't the first time the defense argues that." Franziska, remembering the old times.

"No, Mr. Justice was attacked elsewhere! Look at this photo of the crime scene." The photo showed the scene just as Phoenix and Simon discovered it, all left untouched minus Apollo."There's a splatter of blood next to the sofa, that's where he was attacked."

"It's way too little blood, there's more at his chair." Barrymore.

"Indeed, but considereing that the sword got stuck in Mr. Justice's body it's normal that there isn't a lot of blood. And there's more at the chair because he moved, he made his wound worse by walking over there."

"W-what, but why?" Phoenix was impressed, but his heart ached by thinking about the poor Apollo.

"To leave you some clues, Mr. Wright. He wrote in his journal, right? An admirable determination, just like Mr. Naruhodou's…"

"Oh, Polly…" murmured Trucy.

"That's our next step; his words. He wrote "Hound", he HAD to see the mask at some point. His door was locked, what if he was being chased by said Hound?"

"But he never entered, there are no prints."

"What if he didn't have the need to enter? There's a detail that caught my attention. Mr. Justice's wound had small shards of glass. And if you look at where he was attacked, if you think how he could have seen the Hound…"

"The window!" screamed Phoenix, getting pale."They attacked him from the outside thanks to the window!" exclaimed Phoenix, realizing the shocking truth.

"You truly carry Mr. Naruhodou's blood, Mr. Wright."

"But wait, the glass entered his body… how could that happen?"

"That window was pulverized, maybe the shards fell into his vest and when the sword stabbed him the blade pushed them. He also moved and opened his wound, the glass could have entered then. A dozen different things could happen, but one thing is sure: the window was broken to reach him."

"Maybe you can tell us the truth now, Mr. Barrymore?" Sherlock looked at him, changing his smile for a serious face. Barrymore had his fists clenched in anger.

"Me? Why should I know? You have no way to prove that I was there!"

"Just tell me if our theory sounds good."

"It's completely insane! The window, you say? How do you explain the cuts all over his arms? He was bleeding even before entering that office, your map shows it!"

And then, Sherlock smiled.

"I never mentioned Mr. Justice's cuts."

"During all the time I've been in this courtroom, not even once we mentioned that wounds. This was a trial to define if he was a thief, not to find his assailant, after all. And yet, you know about that."

"Kgh—"

"Mr. Barrymore, you saw Mr. Justice before he entered his office!"

IIIIIIIIIII

I wrote this in a hurry so please forgive me if it has a lot of typos or misrakes, I promise to correct it as soon as I can.


	16. The Hound of the Baskerville

Chapter 16: The Hound of the Baskerville

"Mr. Barrymore, you saw Mr. Justice before he entered his office!" Sherlock shouted, pointing at the old man. "And you saw him already wounded, and if he was running away from who hurt him there's no other moment in which you could have seen the wounds. Nobody saw him running, and if he was our Hound Ms Ettary should have seen his wounds but it wasn't the case. The Hound she saw was spotless, and running. Now we know that it was chasing Mr. Justice, only you could have taken the mask, only you knew about the journal and only you saw him hurt!

Phoenix looked at Barrymore, feeling a mix of anger and surprise within his chest.

"AGGHHHH" screamed the butler.

"B-but...Mr. Barrymore could never hurt someone. He…he just—" babbled Baskerville.

"No, master. Please stop…"

Baskerville looked at the butler with his eyes wide open.

"It's over, there's no way to keep hiding it, master, I'm truly sorry."

"Barrymore…"

"It's just as Mr. Holmes says. I…chased Mr. Justice to his office, that's how I saw his wounds. But please, let me explain, I didn't want to kill him…honest."

"You will tell us even the smallest detail, Mr. Barrymore." Said the Judge.

"Yes" he looked defeated, almost older than he already was "It all started that morning when Mr. Baskerville came back from Mr. Justice's office. He told me about the journal and I understood what that just meant. I swore loyalty to this family the same way my ancestors did and I always served my masters well, I took care of Alexander since he was a baby…if that journal became public, if someone dared to investigate that case then Alexander would lost it all, his position as ambassador, his home…I just couldn't let that happen." He was too ashamed to look at his master, keeping his eyes in the floor."Mr. Justice had refused to sell his journal and, knowing that guy, he would try and discover everything. I panicked like I had never before, I truly didn't know what to do until I saw him, entering the mansion and trying to examine our journal."

"You saw Apollo?" Athena asked.

"Yes, he's hard to ignore with that horns of his and his red vest. Then, I had an idea. I unleashed an attack dog I keep for guarding the manor, I just wanted to scare him until I could hide the journal and renegociate with him."

"The same dog that you sent after us…but Apollo had no bites!"

"W-well, the thing is that…Mr. Justice scared the dog…"

"W-what?! Are you kidding me?" said Phoenix, thinking about the giant dog who almost ate him and the small Apollo who trembled like a newborn deer when he was in a high place. Such idea sounded like total madness. Sherlock covered his mouth with a hand trying to hold a laugh.

"No, I'm serious. That guy has a strong voice, he got scared of the dog and started screaming at it, then he got confident and was almost growling at my dog until it ran away. I couldn't believe it!"

"So his Chords of Steel finally were useful for something huh?" Athena was done.

"When I saw the dog running at his cage like a coward I panicked, I truly started to do the first that came to mind. I turned down the electricity and took the mask, it glows in the dark so I thought it could be pretty terrifying, and Karma. I found him and tried to scare him away, but that goddamned kid! Instead of running like a normal person he screamed and punched me! I got really mad and lost control, I fought him and that's how I cut his arms, he protected the rest of his body pretty well because he was trying to escape at the same time and I often hit that bracelet of his. He managed to open a door and was about to leave, that could have ended there! But it wasn't my day, I had such a lot of bad luck!"

"You started! You deserved that punch to the face!" commented Trucy. Phoenix touched his jaw, he was sure of how hard Apollo can punch. ("Yeah, he has a talent for punching people who deserves it" he thought)

"What happened then? Why did you continue to chase him?" asked the judge.

"He recognized me."

"How?!"

"I don't know! He called me "Mr. Barrymore?" I flinched and he touched his bracelet, then his eyes went wide open and I panicked."

"Apollo can perceive anything, I don't doubt he saw something oh you that gave you away. You said that he had visited the mansion before, right, Mr Baskerville?" explained Phoenix.

"Yeah, at least two times."

"You have a nervous tic, Mr. Barrymore. Everytime you're caught your shoulders jump in a funny way." Said Trucy."You did it many times during this trial."

Phoenix had almost forgotten that his daughter was a Gramarye too and could easily perceive.

"But if I do that when I'm caught, how did he recognized me first? Okay, my tic gave me away, but he asked first! I never spoke, everyone wears the same uniform and I was wearing a mask, just how?! That's a question that steals my sleep!"

"He must have quite the deductive skills." commented Sherlock.

"Please continue, Mr. Barrymore. We shall explain that later." Said the Judge.

"Ghg…all right. After he recognized me I lost my mind and attacked him again, he ran as fast as he could but I couldn't let him go! I was going to ruin everything, all my chances of solving our problem quietly were gone, I was scared. I ran after him until he entered his office and locked the door, then I saw the window and decided to enter from there…" he clenched his fists, he was trembling slighty. "I wasn't thinking straight, I could have broke the window by hitting it with the hilt, my gloved fist or even a stone…but I thrusted the blade into the window, like stabbing it, I felt it hitting flesh and getting stucked in something so I dropped it in fear. When I saw to the other side of the broken window I saw Mr. Justice with the sword piercing his chest, he was unconcious but I thought that he was dead, all the blood that stained his vest made me go cold and run away like a coward. Thank god you arrived shortly after and could save him, now with the truth out all my actions turned to be useless, all I feel now is regret…I'm so sorry Mr. Baskerville, I failed you."

"So, you did it in order to save your master. Good motive, bad methods...I'm tired of hearing that, ever since my time. Mr. Naruhodou's death was because of a man who wanted to be free but did the wrong thing. I read Ms. Susato's letter, Baskerville was full of regret as well but he still begged her to hide the information..." Sherlock was covering his eyes. If Trucy showed him all the evidence then he now knew the whole truth. "You're no better than him, Mr. Barrymore."

"I had no choice!"

"Wrong. Mr. Justice only seeked the truth, you could have made a deal. And still, you not only attacked him, you also went after Wright and his friends after they discovered Karma's secret. You were eager to bury Mr. Naruhodou's case, to let the truth to be lost forever, to let him be forgotten...all in the sake of your master, or in yours, perhaps? Mr. Baskerville has said many times that he didn't want to be the Ambassador, why did you never listen to what he had to say? To what he wanted? If you truly were so worried about his wellbeing that's where you should have started..."

"I-I..." Barrymore looked older, tired and sad. Holmes' words had hit him hard, he couldn't deny them even if he wanted to.

"Barrymore" Baskerville called him, the old man flinched. "I can't forgive what you did, it isn't what my father would do, either. You know it. But..." he was crying now. "Thank you for always taking care of me, you don't have to worry anymore. I may lost everything now, but it's also a new beggining, one I'm now free to build for myself, I promise you it's going to be great. I will be fine."

Barrymore started crying too, he finally looked up at his master.

"Master Baskerville..."

Phoenix didn't know what to think anymore, he shared Sherlock's anger but he also knew what it feels to want to protect someone to the point of madness. He remembered running across a burning bridge or almost freeing criminals to save Maya, forging a card to save his daughter. He could have made the same mistake as Barrymore easily and he would not regret it, not as long as his loved one is safe.

Athena looked at Barrymore and Phoenix, hearing for a moment the same sound from their hearts.

How fascinating was the human heart to simpatize even with those who had hurt them. At the end, they were all but humans.

llllllllllllllllllllll

"This trial has been quite the productive one; the defense solved a century old case, putting to test Mr. Baskerville's job. They discovered who hurt Mr. Justice and proved his innocence, that was the main point of this trial. I see no reason to prolong it." Explained the judge."Does the prosecution have any objection?"

"No, your Magistry."

"Good. Mr. Holmes, then it's time to bid you farewell, are you ready?"

"Just a minute, your Honor, please." Rayfa started to prepare the magatama that would let him go back to rest in the meantime. Sherlock faced Wright and the girls, then he patted Trucy's head. "You're quite the good assistant, you remind me so much of Ms. Susato. Keep being the awesome girl you are." Trucy giggled. Sherlock shook Athena's hand next."Thank you thank you, you did a great job! I'm sure you will be a legendary attorney!" he then stepped close to Phoenix, he sighed and smiled sadly but grateful. "Thank you so much Mr. Wright…your team finally solved the case that took too many lives. Mr. Naruhodou will finally be able to rest in peace all thanks to you. I'm really glad."

"I'm glad too, Mr. Holmes, thank you for all your help." He took the photos from Susato's journal and gave them to him. Sherlock's eyes went wide open, but then glassy."Nobody will ever forget you all, I promise."

Then Sherlock started crying, his hands that were holding the photos were shaking.

"M-my family…" Sherlock remembered all those days they spend together, solving cases and just dining together as a family. His tears just couldn't stop but there was a smile in his lips and relief in his heart. "Thank you for finally putting us to rest, my friends...I'm ready to face them again, Ms. Susato, my dear Iris and...Mr. Naruhodou. *snif*"

"Mr. Holmes, sorry to ask but, where's Naruhodou buried?"

"You want to visit him? Let me write it down for you. I have no doubt about Mr. Naruhodou's blood running through your veins, but you look different. He was small and thin, you look strong, also your face is completely different."

"I don't know if you will believe me, but I met him." Phoenix scratched his chin. "And now that my mind is clearer, I finally get why his smile seemed familiar..." he took his wallet clumsily with his only hand, pulled out something and showed it to Sherlock. "I would like you to look at something before you go."

Sherlock looked at the thing and gasped, then he started laughing but also crying of happiness.

"Mr. Wright!" Holmes hugged him, being careful with his wounds but still embracing him as strong as he could. "Please, take good care of this young man! I'm really happy to see him, I can't put it into words. And take care of yourself too…and the girls, I waited a century to meet you and it was all worth it. THANK YOU."

Then, cleaning his tears and giving back the photos to Phoenix, Sherlock walked to where Rayfa was holding the magatama, she smiled to him as he touched it, and he couldn't feel better.

"Ms Susato, Iris, Mr. Naruhodou… it's finally over." He whispered just before closing his eyes and departing with a smile, being sure that those who he loved were waiting for him.

Lllllllllllllllllllll

June 23, 8:00 pm

In'mee's home

The defense team was finally able to rest, it had been a very hard day. Being cuddled in a sofa after eating dinner felt almost surreal.

Simon was still at the hospital and Nahyuta had traveled to watch over Apollo since the trial ended. The team would travel later as they were waiting for Phoenix to feel better.

Everyone was already falling asleep when someone knocked the door. Beh'leeb went to open it, just to come back a few minutes later.

"Mr. Wright, they are waiting for you." She said.

"Huh? For me? Who?"

"Prosecutor von Karma."

Phoenix flinched, impressed. He almost ran to the door as curiosity was eating him alive. He had noticed Franxiska's weird behavior, she sure had changed a lot and he wanted to know why. When he opened the door Franziska was there indeed, but also Baskerville.

"Ms. Von Karma…Mr. Baskerville, what are you doing here?"

"It's not like I want to, Mr. Wright." Answered Franziska, Phoenix had found his perfect moment to strike.

"There it is…what happened to you, Ms. Von Karma?"

"With me? Nothing, I'm perfect."

"No no, you changed you behavior. You were eager to solve the case even if that would mean the defeat to you, I just can't understand."

"And you don't need to, people always changes and it have been like 10 years since we last met."

"Yes, but you suddenly stopped calling me "fool" but just me, everyone else was still foolish. This has something to do with the sword, right? you were trying so know the truth, then."

"I may have stopped calling you a fool, but you still are one." She crossed her arms. "I was just…curious. So many years of seeking perfection leave me with no time at all for what I wanted. I realized that years ago, thanks to Miles Edgeworth, he always follows the law as if it's his life, but he also knows to follow his heart when it's necessary. I finally got the chance to try it."

Phoenix had his mouth open, he was impressed at how much she had grown up, he was happy for her. It was like if Manfred Von Karma's ghost was finally left behind by his daughter. He smiled.

"You haven't changed at all, huh? Still smiling like a fool. Anyway, I had always wondered about that sword, just why it was so special? Why was it something as worthy as to carry it as a name? If I had made my work perfectly I would have retrieved the sword but I would let the truth to get lost. So, in the sake of it, I did a bad job."

"It wasn't bad, my employee will never forget that whip and we reached the truth together."

"Like I care! I got what I wanted at the end so I still won!" she cleaned her throat. "Mr. Wright, what do you know about the sword?"

"Hmm, that it's name is Karma and long ago it belonged to the Asougi family, until Kazuma passed it down to his best friend, Naruhodou Ryuunosuke."

"Correct, then Naruhodou died and Sherlock Holmes gave it to my ancestors, the Von Karmas. The reason why I can't call you a fool even if I wanted to it's because we swore to protect it until it's true owner appears. Ergo, a descendant of Ryuunosuke Naruhodou."

"W-wait, what?"

Franziska showed him the sword, contained within it's case and with the red band tied to it again.

"During the trial, we proved that you descend directly from him. So, as his true owner I shall give it to you, it's clean now that it won't be used as evidence anymore."

Phoenix received it, feeling as if he was waiting all his life for that moment..

"T-thank you! But wait, not anymore? What about Mr. Barrymore?"

"He confessed everything and gave himself in, they closed the case. " explained Baskerville, he looked sad but his eyes were shining in a way that never before.

"I'm sorry Mr. Baskerville."

"Don't be, Mr. Wright. It was all result from our actions, nothing else. You were right after all." He pulled out from his jacket a small box and a black journal that Phoenix recognized instantly."There were two, Barrymore hid the other. Yours talks about Sherlock being a sham or the wedding ring?"

"Huh? The wedding ring if I remember well."

"Then yours it's the real one. Ours it's the forged one, Moriarty used it as evidence to free Henry Baskerville. I have this box for you too, there are all of Susato's belongings that remained. As you may have deduced, she accepted blackmail so she could take care of her son in peace. However, her journal dissapeared, no one was able to find it until now, I can't stop wondering how she managed to hide it but seems like it was the key to solve this mistery."

Baskerville gave the objects to Phoenix, who was really surprised.

"Why are you giving them to me? I thought you were a descendant too."

"Heh, no! Not by blood, anyway. To find Susato's journal my ancestors did even the impossible, they managed to make her inherit her things for them but they still never found it. She was a woman to fear."

"Thank you Mr. Baskerville. What will you fo now?"

"I'm no longer England's ambassado, but I received a letter for another job. Now that we know that Sherlock was real, England it's a total madness, I will be leading an investigation team to find every last detail about Sherlock. That will surely include Mr Naruhodou and Ms. Susato, so I'm here to invite you into the team. It doesn't have to be now, we have a lot to do first, but I'll invite Mr. Justice too, after all, his father had the real journal and we have no idea of why."

"It sure seems interesting! Good luck Mr. Baskerville. You will finaly travel around the world as you wanted. "

"And I'm eager to!"

"Hey, Mr. Baskerville, how could Barrymore attack Apollo and us without hurting civillians?"

"Oh, you can be the smartest lawyers around the world, but you still never read…the Manor was under some renovations and was close to public. Ms. Ettary had no idea either."

"Always a fool, Phoenix Wright."


	17. Heritage for the Future

Chapter 17: Heritage for the Future

June 26, 8:15 pm

Speciallity Clinic.

"So, Mr. Wright. This "Naruhodou Ryuunosuke" not only ended up being the key to our case but also your great great great grandpa?" asked Athena.

"Yep."

"And then suddenly Prosecutor Von Karma can't treat you like a fool because you're Naruhodou's honorable descendant."

"So she says."

"And she gave you a sword, and Baskerville gave you your great great great grandparents' belongings."

"Correct."

"I'm sure that's pretty illegal."

"Exactly which part?"

"Carrying a sword! Especially the one that hurt our Apollo! What are you going to say to him?"

"I can't hide anything from him even if I want to."

"I can already imagine you Daddy, "Hey Apollo, I know you almost died but hey, I got my heritage I didn't know I had from a japanese old ghost." mocked Trucy.

"Believe it or not, that will sound normal to him. It can easily be his everyday." Answered Nahyuta, who was getting closer to them.

"Prosecutor Sahdmadhi! How are you? How's Apollo doing?" asked Phoenix.

"He's recovering quite fast, the doctors say that he may wake up soon, it would be awesome if you could be here by then, Mr. Wright. I know he would be happy to see you." Nahyuta looked tired but his eyes were shining with hope."You can go visit him at his room, it's still time. I'll go fetch some food if you don't mind"

"Oh no, go ahead Mr. Sahdmadhi, thank you so much!"

They almost ran to Apollo's room, eager to see him after everything. He still looked small to Phoenix, but he was less pale and he didn't need a machine to keep breathing anymore.

"Aw, Polly." Trucy sat at his side, holding one of his bandaged hands.

"Now that I think about it, he had a lot of bad luck…I'm really glad that he's alive." Said Athena."By the way, Boss, why do you think Apollo's father had Ryuunosuke's journal?"

"That's a pretty funny question, actually. To answer, I must say that I may be Naruhodou's descendant but even Mr. Holmes told me that I didn't look like him."

"Oh yeah, and you showed him something and he bursted in laugh. What was it?" questioned Trucy.

"A photo of you and Apollo."

"You have one of me too?" asked Athena.

"I'm afraid I'm not."

"Awww, you clearly have your favorites…"

"But wait, then why did Sherlock laugh? Why did you show it to him in the first place?" Trucy was curious. Phoenix smiled and pulled something out of his inner pocket, giving it to Trucy.

"Have you seen Mr. Naruhodou closely? Try to imagine him with Apollo's eyebrows"

"Huh? AH, NO WAY!"

"What happens Trucy? Let me see, let me see!" Athena also looked at the photo, then at Apollo."YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS" Athena had her mouth open."Mr. Wright! They are so alike! Whyyy?! That means you're related somehow?!"

"Not really. A hundred years it's a pretty long time, the Wright name got lost at some point, or maybe it wasn't even a Wright, a lot of things could have happened. But genetics are really strong, sometimes very recent generations show features of really old ancestors, it may be Apollo's case." Phoenix had found the resemblance when he remembered Ryuunosuke smiling at him. It was a warm and energetic smile, just like Apollo's. Then he confirmed his theory when Sherlock also saw his friend in Apollo.

"Woaaah, that's amazing! To think that you two share Naruhodou's blood makes our Agency more interesting, maybe you were destined to be lawyers!"

"Hah, maybe!"

Maybe he did, indeed. Everything in his life felt like coincidences now, to think that not just one but two descendants of Naruhodou would end up wrapping up his case, solving the reason behind his misterious death. Phoenix wondered if the ghost was finally able to rest in peace, he stopped dreaming with him the day of the trial even if he had spend the next days reading his journal and Sherlock's, getting to know him better. He truly wished to see him again.

The night fell soon enough and Nahyuta along with Athena left the hospital to rest. Phoenix and Trucy stayed at Apollo's side.

"Sometimes I really miss Japan, I miss its clear sky and the cherry blossom everywhere. London it's always cloudy and even foggy, being in the streets makes you feel like you're inside of a mistery book in which everything could happen at the blink of an eye.

But, whenever I feel homesick I wake up and realize that all I need it's here, in London. In the 221 B of Baker Street. Here, at the warm scent of herbal tea filling the room and the ocassional stench of a chemistry I had never hear about.

I realize that I can find Japan's clear skies and cherry blossoms in Susato's eyes, always looking at me with love. I can always find a warm smile at Iris' face or expect a weird story from Holmes-san, right in front of the soft cracking sound of the fire place.

I realize that my family is here, that the people I care and love the most is right at my side and then I feel like I'm right at home."

Phoenix read. He couldn't relate more to him even if he wanted to, he know that feeling too well. He looked at Trucy, asleep with her hear over Apollo's bed, and smiled. He felt right at home too.

Soon, he also fell asleep and as he started to dream, he saw the now familiar white mist.

"Mr. Naruhodou!" he called, and then he saw him.

At first he only saw his back, but as he was getting closer he distinguished that he now had the sword Karma at his hip, along with a colorful armband.

"Mr. Naruhodou!"

He turned, now his face was clean, his body didn't have any blood and his eyes were shining. He saw Phoenix and smiled greatly.

"Ryuuichi! He ran towards Phoenix but stopped just a few steps from him."Y-you did it! You solved the case, you discovered where I had hidden those pages! You made me recover my memories…you…" he sniffed, wipping some tears."You saved them and even me…I'm so, so glad with you, I can't even put into words how much I thank you. I just, arigato…I mean…thank you, thank you so much, Ryuuichi."

Ryuunosuke was crying but also smiling, he couldn't help himself and hugged Phoenix tightly.

"I'm so glad…"

"It's okay, I'm sorry that you had to wait for so long."

"I was eager to wait an eternity if that meant saving Susato-san…it was all thanks to you."

"Susato…"

There were people standing not so far away, Phoenix looked at them closely. He recognized the young woman in kimono and the little girl next to her. They appeared as Phoenix and Naruhodou remembered them.

Susato smiled gently to Phoenix, surely feeling the faint tie that joined them. But then, as she saw Naruhodou her eyes turned glassy and tears started to fell immediately.

Ryuunosuke turned around and saw them, he stayed quiet for a moment, like mesmerized, then cried. Susato was holding the hand of a small child, who looked at Ryuunosuke with admiration. Naruhodou blinked and looked at Phoenix, puzzled.

He truly could be read like a book, Phoenix realized.

"That's right, I'm not Ryuuichi. My name is Phoenix Wright, and I may not be your son, but I'm indeed your family. Now go, you have waited long enough."

Ryuunosuke laughed, put a hand on Phoenix shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"Thank you, Phoenix Wright…"

And then he ran to where his family was waiting. He hugged Iris and then carried his son, small as Susato remembered, hugging him tightly. Neither Susato or him could stop crying, he also hugged her and kissed her forehead. Phoenix felt like he was going to cry too.

"Mr. Wright." He was distracted by a loud voice, coming from his side. He turned just to find Sherlock's grey eyes locked on him, he smiled. "You finally put an end to this century-long case, thank you so much. Now, you have to wake up!" he put his hand on Phoenix's shoulder and, for a strange reason, it felt way more real than Naruhodou's "You also have someone waiting for you. Wake up, Mr. Wright! WAKE UP!"

Phoenix jumped and opened his eyes. He was at the hospital, still sat in his chair with Naruhodou's journal open in his hand. He still felt something on his shoulder and that scared him.

"Mr. Wright?"

When he recognized the voice calling his name his heart skipped a beat.

"Apollo!" he yelped, waking Trucy up."Apollo for god's sake you're awake!" He tried to hug him without hurting him and his own arm as well. Apollo chuckled slightly.

"Polly!"

"Are you… crying, Mr. Wright?" Apollo's voice was still weak, but hearing it was a blessing.

"How couldn't I Apollo?...how couldn't I…"

When Phoenix got up he saw that Apollo was also crying but smiling. Just then, it was like if he was seeing Naruhodou again.

"Polly I missed you so much!" said Trucy, playing with his hair, his horns fallen forward but still there."How do you feel?"

"I'm fine Truce…" he said, pattin Trucy's head softly. "I'm fine!"

Llllllllllllllllll

"He scared the dog? I don't believe you" said Blackquill, who had joined them a week after Apollo woke up. Even if he couldn't move a lot due to his wound he would never admit that he lost so he fought to stand on his feet again as fast as he could.

"He did! And he scared Barrymore so bad that the old man ran with a mask and sword trying to save what little dignity he had left." answered Athena.

"Don't be rude Athena, he wasn't that bad of a man." Said Apollo.

"Are you really defending him, Apollo? After everything he did to you?"

"I…honestly still can't believe that he was the culprit. He didn't look bad, all the times I worked with Baskerville he was kind and nice."

"Maybe he was faking it."

"No, my bracelet never reacted, it was true. He treated Baskerville like if he was his son."

"That's true too, he really cared about him. But fear changes people, Justice-dono." Explained Blackquill. "When he attacked us he wasn't even thinking straight, his attacks were fast and without any thought. Fear possessed him like a demon."

"When he chased me he was also out of his mind, I thought that putting my door among us would allow me to talk and calm him down. I…never expected what happened…" Apollo touched his chest, trembling.

"Neither did he if it helps you somehow. It was uh…an "accident"" said Phoenix."But he still was crazy, I mean, he did it again with us. But, Apollo, how did you know that the Hound was Barrymore? He was wearing a mask and everything."

"Huh? Oh…well, that was half bluff half deduction. You see, Barrymore it's a bit clumsy, he's really old after all. It was a small detail that Baskerville said that morning while we were discussing at my office: "Maybe Barrymore was right about you! The old man may drop the coffee over himself every morning, but his mind still works quite fine!" that's what he said. Then when I escaped the mansion and finally saw him in the light I saw that he was wearing gloves; nobody else in the manor wore them so I thought it was only to hide his prints, but then I saw a dark stain on his vest. If he always dropped the coffee it made sense that he now wore gloves and the stain could be coffee. Then, to confirm my theory I called him by his name. When my bracelet reacted I knew that I was right, but also that I had messed it up badly since he started to attack like crazy."

"Wow, Mr. Holmes would be proud of you." Added Athena.

"Then, if you knew that it was him, why you wrote "Baskerville" and not "Barrymore" in your journal." Asked Phoenix. Apollo paled.

"I wrote "Baskerville"? Oh my god…please tell me that he's okay…"

"He is! We disturbed him quite a lot but we didn't convict him at the end (well, almost)"

"Mr. Wright! Oh god, I messed it up… "

"Nobody can blame you Apollo, you were barely conscious. And we reached the truth at the end so nothing is wrong!"

"Mr. Holmes would be ashamed of you for giving false clues…" commented Athena again.

"Athena!" Phoenix shushed.

"Oh, also, you had THE Sherlock Holmes journal in your office, how did you find it?" asked Trucy.

"I…what?"

"You didn't know? It was among your books, the ones in your desk."

"That were my father's books, I didn't have the chance to read them all. I just checked Naruhodou's journal."

"Those two journals were the key for the entire case. We even discovered that Naruhodou was my daddy's ancestor!"

"H-he was?! Whaaat-ow!" he moved so harshly that his wounds hurt.

"Carefull Apollo!"

"I-I'm fine. It's just that…my father, left a letter for me." He looked at Phoenix right in the eye. "Apollo, these books are our family's most treasured possession. There have been in our family for generations and our duty is to protect them even if our life it's in danger. It's really important that you take care of them, one day you will grow up and then I will tell you their story, my son. That's our duty till we find a Naruhodou, but I think that will be as hard as to find a dragon." Apollo recited."The date was just before his travel to Kura'in, he had to left the vooks in England so I guess he wabted some kind of memo. I remember that letter good, I remembered it a lot while I was being chased. I wanted to know just why they were so important."

"It's weird, your father ended up meeting a dragon and you a Naruhodou, huh?" said Trucy.

"So, your family was protecting Naruhodou and Sherlock's journals. Just how? They supposely dissapeared after Naruhodou's case, it's still a mistery how they survived till now." Phoenix was thinking hard, trying to find an answer. He seriously considered channeling Susato and ask her, but he didn't have the photos anymore.

"Do you think that the real Naruhodou could have some answers?" asked Apollo.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"There's a place that hasn't been touched for years, ever since Susato died. And I think such place would be the safest to hide something from those watching over her. She couldn't possibly return to Baker Street by herself or deliver the journals to someone. She clearly had a partner. "

"Which place? I think we have checked everything we could."

"Have you visited Naruhodou's tomb?"

"Oh…"

"Think about it, they couldn't forbid her from visiting it and it could be her only chance to contact someone. I think it's worth checking."

"Indeed. Mr. Holmes gave me the direction, we should go."

"Can I ask you for a favor, Mr. Wright?"

"Of course Apollo."

"Please wait for me." Apollo begged. "I also want to know the truth."

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I based my "Apollo is also Ryuunosuke's sucessor" HC on this photo!

https/a1tam0nt (dot tumblr dot com)/post/172424394238/how-did-we-not-notice-this-before

Also, there's only one chapter left, thank you so much for reading this one. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writting it!

I'm working on a new fic, all I will tell you for now its that it will be a DGS AU! Please look forward to it!


	18. Blood Ties

Chapter 18: Blood Ties

August 2nd, 3:00 pm.

"Honestly, I was expecting a graveyard, Mr. Wright." Commented Apollo, who was standing right next to Phoenix. He was wearing a coat, scarf and a beanie that didn't cover his horns. His chest hurt with the cold so he procured every piece of cloth that could keep him warm.

Phoenix was wearing just a coat, but he was regretting it.

The place they were in was a high one, like a small mountain that had an awesome view of the sea and some trees that rustled thanks to the cold and strong wind.

"Mr. Holmes had a house not so far from here, I guess he owned this part as well." said Phoenix.

"So, this is where he was laid to rest. It looks abandoned…" Apollo kneeled and cleaned the stone before him with a tissue, revealing a name that was being forgotten."Ryuunosuke Naruhodou"

"Daddy! Why do you walk so fast?" Trucy reached them, carrying a bouquet and being well prepared for the cold."I guess this is a family reunion, huh? Grandpa Ryuu sure is lonely."

There was a single tomb up there, the stone clearly deteriorated by the weather but still complete.

"Why they didn't bury Ms. Mikotoba or Sherlock here as well?" asked Trucy.

"Sherlock's body was never found and Mikotoba rests in Japan, plus, that family was put in quite the hard spot. But at least I know that they are together now." Answered Phoenix.

"The death that one day separates us will get us together at the end, huh?" Apollo said.

"Woah Polly! Why the sudden gloom?"

Phoenix was surprised too. Apollo was loud all the time and always had a smile to share, but he also had suffered a lot. He had experienced the death of his loved ones ever since he was a child. But Phoenix had the feeling that that was just a part of the problem.

"It's just that I've been thinking a lot…"

Apollo looked at the tomb and touched his bracelet. Phoenix tried hard to figure out what was on his mind.

THE BRACELET WAS ONCE HIS MOTHER'S

Ok, he knew at least that. But why would Apollo remember his mother now? He thinks that she's dead?

Phoenix bit his lip, he wished so bad that he could tell them the truth about their mother. But it wasn't the time.

Trucy sat down next to Apollo, he patted her head and smiled.

"I'm so glad that you're here Truce."

HE FELT LONELY

The thought illuminated Phoenix's mind. Apollo wasn't thinking about her mother, he remembered her because she had left him. He started to act weird as he saw Ryuunosuke's tomb. "It looks abandoned…" he had said before kneeling and starting to clean it up. He knew too well how it was to feel alone, to feel like there's nobody to help you. Maybe that was why he was always fine for everyone, to never let them feel how he once felt. "…will get us together at the end…"

He liked that part of death? To meet your loved ones once again? If that was the case, why did he sound sad?

HE HAD NEARLY DIED A MONTH AGO

Ah.

He liked the idea of seeing his loved ones again, however, he didn't want to die yet. Phoenix remembered Apollo crying while he was delirious, he wished with all his forces to keep living. Why? That was easy, he still has people he cares about in life. Trucy, for example, ever since he left the hospital he hugged her everytime he could and tried to keep her happy. Apollo also tried to talk more with Phoenix, even with Blackquill. He still loved his life after all.

Phoenix smiled, proud of the young lawyer and feeling so happy to see him being fine again. He needed to show him.

"Apollo" called Phoenix, the boy lifted his head. Wright also sat down next to him and patted his shoulder, smiling. "We are really glad that you're alive. We missed you a lot and we were very afraid of losing you, but you fought and came back to us…thank you. Thank you so much, Apollo." And then he hugged him.

"Mr. Wright…" Apollo said, his voice breaking, he embraced him and also Trucy. Phoenix's theory about his behavior was correct.

"Aww Polly, come here." Said Trucy, wipping Apollo's tears and hugging him too.

Apollo wasn't one to openly cry, but after all that had happened during the last month these simple actions were enought to draw his feelings out. He cried but his heart felt better, better enough to draw a smile on his face.

"Thank you…" he murmured. After they separated Apollo looked at Naruhodou's tomb now with different eyes, noticing a plate of stone in front of it. It was almost completely covered of grass, but it looked somehow different from the tomb."Look at this, Mr. Wright."

Apollo cleaned the stone and now it was clear that it was suspicious. It was divided in two by a clean cut, not just a crack.

"They loved secret compartments, it can be another one if we're lucky enough."said Phoenix. "That or we will find Naruhodou's skull and I will be cursed forever…" he said, now doubting.

"C'mon Mr. Wright, maybe there isn't any bones anymore…I hope." Said Apollo, gulping. He lifted a part of the stone but as he managed to separate it from the dirt he screamed. Phoenix and Trucy also yelped and flinched.

"NOW I'M CURSED." Yelled Phoenix.

"Daddy! It's just the spiders!"said Trucy before breaking in a laugh. Apollo shook his arms.

"I should have expected that! Damn! These things sure are scary!" however, when he looked at the place again it was free of spiders, they were also scared of the three yelling people jumping over them. Now with the light a white box was visible, waiting to be opened.

Trucy helped to get it out and cleaned it before seeing its contents. It contained a new notebook and tons of notes and photos.

"Another journal, I'm seriously considering writting one myself."said Phoenix. He read the name on the cover. "Iris Watson"

"She was the girl in the photos! The one with the pink hair!" chirped Trucy.

"I was wondering about her. Naruhodou and Ms. Mikotoba mentioned her a lot in their journals, but her name suddenly stopped to came out." Apollo pressed his forehead in thought while talking.

The journal had some entries marked, Phoenix picked the first one and read out loud.

"Luckily, nobody expected Watson to be a little girl. They were expecting a gentleman as the loyal compannion of Sherlock Holmes so nobody looked out for me when Baskerville started to chase us down.

Susato and me were rescued by the Wright family, who threated us like if we were part of the family since the beggining. However, we knew that Baskerville would look for us one day so we made a plan and split up. I took all the evidence from Mr. Naruhodou's case along with his journal with me. But it wasn't all.

Everybody knew that Susato was pregnant so we had no way of hiding her child without revealing that we were two teams; one that was still looking for the truth while the other had their hands tied. So, one of her sons stayed with her, but the other escaped with me…"

"The other? What the—"

"Polly! Don't interrupt!" shushed Trucy, intrigued. Phoenix chuckled before continuing.

"…Nobody but us knew that she had twins; Ryuiichi and Ryuutarou. Ryuiichi stayed with his mother and was called Raymond Wright while I took Ryuutarou with me back to England, where we were adopted by the Captain Justice, the best friend of Mr. Wright, the head of the family. We stayed in England under the very nose of Mr. Baskerville so he never found us. However, we moved in the shadows trying to find some missing clue, some sort of lead, something that could bring justice to our friend. But then, Sherlock dissapeared too.

He didn't know that we were back, it was impossible to tell him. I tried to look for him but he was gone. I don't know if I will ever see him again…"

The first note ended there. Phoenix looked for the second one, intrigued.

"Sherlock is dead.

My heart cried day and night for a long time, honestly I will never recover from this.

However, I can't give up now. Susato and I had been exchanging notes, we leave them at Naruhodou's grave, the only place in which they let her be alone. Thanks to that I now know that Mr. Baskerville found her, but she still outsmarted him.

She reproduced the letter Baskerville had sent her and hid it in her diary until the time came. She said in her note that her kimono was good to hide things in its sleeves so she used it with the excuse of using it as a memento to visit Naruhodou, then she left her journal at our hiding spot for me to recover it.

It was the only lead we had obtained after all this time, however, it was useless. We had no way to prove that it was possible or that Baskerville had a motive to write that letter, after all, he was cleared of the murder charges and he didn't kill Naruhodou. We needed something to tie up his murder and Baskerville to give credibility to that letter.

We will look for any clue that could help.

In the meantime, we can't risk our case.

I hid the evidence and Susato's journal where nobody but us could find it. I only left a clue in Sherlock's journal. Only us truth seekers will be able to get this when the time is right."

The remaining things were photos, one of them showed Iris now as a young woman, an old man that looked very proud and a small boy that was like a small clone of Naruhodou. The back of the photo said that he was Ryuutarou.

Another photo showed an older Susato, dressed very elegant and being scorted by a young man, identical to her dead husband too. He was Raymond, or Ryuuichi as they know him.

The next one was Iris, now clearly aged with Ryuutarou, both dressed like scientists. There was a note written behind:

"Ryuutarou is a brilliant young man, he started up as my assistant but now he's starting to make his own path. He's studying new techniques to apply science at solving crime scenes and the people is finally starting to recognize us. This is like one of Sherlock's dreams, he would be so happy with this…

Mr. Naruhodou would also be really proud of him.

Iris."

"Look! Ryuuichi was a doctor!" exclaimed Trucy with the next photo. It looked like Iris and Susato used this to know how they were doing and it seemed to work pretty well.

"What's really sad is that Ms. Susato probably never met her son in person…" said Apollo. He had never met his real parents either, it was easy for him to relate to Ryuuichi in that way. "Neither of them got into law, maybe that's why they never solved Naruhodou's case."

"Actually, they had no way of solving it. Sherlock gave Karma to the Von Karmas and so the last notes were hidden all the time." Answered Phoenix.

"So, the Wrights were forced to forget everything and the Justices guarded Naruhodou and Sherlock's journals until they could find proof. That's how my father got th—" Apollo stopped. The next photo was very recent and he recognized the people on it in an instant. It was Jove, hugging a small child in his arms.

"Aww Polly, you had horns since you were a baby. Wait…is that…" Trucy looked closer at the photo and gasped. "Lamiroir!"

Next to Jove there was a woman, wearing a scarf and mantle, touching baby Apollo's face.

Phoenix gulped. Luckily she was wearing that strange attire instead of her magician costume or else Trucy would recognize her in an instant. He supposed that, being the weird man he was, Thalassa's father didn't approve Jove so she visited him in secret.

"Lamiroir is…my mom? I-I can't believe this…just how? Why?" he turned the photo looking for a note, he started to read it.

"Us Justice shall give meaning to our name and look for the truth. For being the last Justice it's now my mission to take care of the old journals that carry the details of the Naruhodou Ryuunosuke case. My grandfather thought that we may find a lead if we looked for Karma, Naruhodou's katana, but his life ended too soon and with my father gone too I'm the only one able to search. I used my talent as a musician to travel around the world looking for clues and finally found one.

The katana was stolen from its guardians years ago but I was able to find a new record of it. It was sold in a public auction six months ago and it was sent to a country named Kura'in, I don't know exactly who's the owner but there will be a big party and if I have enough luck I may be able to find new info.

I'm taking my son, Apollo, with me. I hope someday he will grow up and search for this truth along with me. The idea of living quietly in family sounds really good, I shall talk to her soon…

Jove Justice."

"He was investigating when he died…" concluded Apollo, his horns falling forward. "I wish I could have met him…but…" he looked at the photo again. "Lamiroir…I have to look for her! I will call Prosecutor Gavin, he sure knows where she is right now! Oh my god…my mother is alive, I can't believe this…"

Phoenix put a hand on his shoulder, smiling.

"Can you do me a favor before you go?" he asked.

"Of course Mr. Wright!"

"Please, take Trucy with you."

Llllllllllllllllllllllll

August 10, 9:00 am

In'mee's House

"What's in your mind, Nick?" asked Maya.

Phoenix, Beh'leeb and Maya were drinking some tea together. Phoenix had agreed to stay in Kura'in and help whoever needs it while Apollo traveled to search for his mother. Wright was nervous and somehow dissapointed, he would love to see the moment in which the two brothers learn the truth but he couldn't say no to Apollo's request after everything that had happened.

"I'm worried about Trucy and Apollo traveling alone."

"Mr. Justice is quite capable, they will be okay Mr. Wright." Said Beh'leeb.

"C'mon Nick, the kid dethroned a queen, he can do this." Afirmed Maya. Phoenix chuckled.

"Hey Maya, I have a question for you."

"About what?"

"Ghosts. Do they really exist? I mean, I know that souls do exist because you can channel them but what about ghosts? Can a soul stay in this world just because?"

"Oh, it isn't like they stay. Some of them are so powerful that their energy can manifest somehow in this world and make some tricks. Why do you ask?"

"During our last case I learned that an ancestor of mine was murdered and his case was never solved. But even if I had never seen him he still appeared in my dreams and asked for my help."

"There are things that make one more perceptive to their energy, like blood ties or love. Do you remember what Mr. Armando told you during Iris' trial?"

"That he had seen Mia in me, wait…he actually saw her?! I thought he was just being poetic!"

"I saw her too, she wanted to give him a message and their bond allowed it. The blood tie you share with your ancestor allowed him to give his message."

"But he is Apollo's ancestor too and he didn't see him."

"Really? Wow! So you are kind of related to Apollo too!"

"Not really, our only common ancestor was alive a century ago. But it wasn't the point!"

"Oh, right. Did you hear of him before the dream?"

"I found his journal, I was reading it when I fell asleep."

"Oh, that's it! If an item was important to that person it carries a lot of energy that can manifest itself during a dream!"

"That sounds really crazy but I'm so used to this kind of thing that it worries me…" he was done. But then another thing came to his mind."But hey! When he appeared in my dreams he barely remember who he was and his body was about to dissapear, but at the end he looked just like in the photos."

"Spirits are very tied to memories. If the people remembers them they will stay strong, the feelings that they had when they died also counts. He may have gotten stronger as you discovered how he was so he also recovered his memories."

"When did you learn this much? Impressive!"

"I have been training my entire life Nick!"

"That's really good! I'm proud of you! But wait, then that's why I only saw one of his kids and I saw his wife and friends as they were in the photos!"

"Yeah! You saw what you remembered, but he probably will discover the other twin soon."

"We're quite the family since centuries ago, huh?"

"To think that Ryuu was a lawyer too, it runs in the blood!" Maya had learned about Ryuunosuke thanks to Phoenix, she had seen the photos as well. "Sadly you didn't inherit his cute face."

"Hey! It isn't like I need it, I'm pretty good with my current face."

"Heheh, whatever you say Nick."

(What does she mean with that) Phoenix thought, a little hurt. He looked at his tea and couldn't avoid thinking about Ryuunosuke. Phoenix was more of a coffee person but sice he had read how much Naruhodou loved tea he started to try it out more often. He had read all the journals and now it felt like if they were friends, like if he had knew them for a lifetime. That feeling filked his heart with a warm and nostalgic sensation.

Meeting his ancestor had changed not only his life but everyone's that surrounded him. Von Karma was now nice to him thanks to her vow to the Naruhodous, Baskerville now investigated the Great Detective, even Apollo had learnt about his mother. And the old ghost was now resting in peace with those who loved him.

Phoenix couldn't think on a better ending for this case, however, life was about to surprise him like it always does.

"DADDY!" someone screamed. The voice came from the door where Trucy was standing to everyone's surprise. She ran to her father and hugged him tightly.

Apollo entered next, followed by Lamiroir now without her robe. Both of them had a great smile in their faces.

"We found her Mr. Wright…she told us everything!"

"APOLLO IS MY BROTHER, I CAN'T BE HAPPIER" she was about to cry but then Apollo came too and hugged her with an arm, inviting Lamiroir with the other.

Phoenix saw Apollo's eyes shinning with an intensity that he had never seen before and he knew exactly what was he thinking.

He was as glad and happy as he had been so few times during his life. He had finally reunited his family and survived.

Apollo was really glad of being alive to live this. And it was clear that he wasn't the only one who felt that way…

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This is it!

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writting it! This was my first project writting chapter by chapter instead of writting the whole thing so forgive me if I had some mistakes but please feel free to point them out so I can make a better job!

Thank you so much for reading the whole thing!

I may post some extra content in my Tumblr account, like this design of The Hound I drew while thinking about the story, you can follow if you want but I'm not that active: https : / / apolloiswright tumblr com/post/189362874873/i-wrote-a-fanfic-in-ao3-called-the-adventure-of

(to open just put a point after tumblr)

Last, I'll write a new fic called "The Adventure of the Three Leather Masks", it will be an AU of The Great Ace Attorney in which Susato dreams with being a lawyer in an old society where only men were able to, however, a misterious crime will finally let her be able to fulfill her dream!

I'm very excited with this project since I will explore the characters from my favorite game within the story and treat interesting themes so please look forward if you like any of my fics! I would really appreciate it!

Thank you again!


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